Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Planes of Existence
by Ryu Taylor the Ferret
Summary: On Pocketurn, the planet of Pokémon, Pelame aspires to be a historian. Her passion for delving into Pocketurn's history leads her into a grand adventure in which the fate of all things could be decided by the outcome of. (Currently on hiatus)
1. Genesis Day 1507

Chapter 1 – Genesis Day 1507

* * *

Pelame had once again finished reading her favorite story, having found a bit of time to while her parents got themselves ready for the Genesis Day Festival. She had already gotten her supplies together, although she wasn't particularly anxious to get to the festival. Whatever the situation, she always enjoyed reading the story of _Jirachi's Final Wish_.

_"Thanks again, Grandmother Albero,"_ she thought to herself as she gazed at the writing in the back cover. The writing read, "To Pelame, my favorite granddaughter. May you solve this book's mystery and also earn a place in here." She then placed the storybook in her backpack and went to the front door of her house. Her parents eventually caught up, and the family was ready to go.

"Caught up on some reading, Pelame?" said the mother glaceon to her eevee daughter.

"We're not _that_ slow, are we?" added the father vaporeon.

"Just a little bit," Pelame joked. "But there's no hurry. The festival goes on for nine more hours. Ah, the upsides of having a holiday end at the stroke of midnight."

"Well, let's not keep Grandmother Albero waiting. Let's get going!"

And so, the family of eeveelutions left their home and went in the direction of the forest past the town's park.

* * *

Normally, the forest on the edge of the town of Promised Land was of no interest to the young eevee nor her family. But whenever New Year's Day was a Monday, it suddenly became a tradition to go there. More specifically, to a clearing Albero loved going to when she was alive. On this special day, known to the world as Genesis Day, Albero's spirit was allowed to visit the clearing and speak to Pelame and her family. On this day, souls of the dead could communicate with the living ones they were close to. It was one of many ways the world celebrated this sacred day dedicated to appreciating existence itself. And so, Pelame and her family reached the clearing in the middle of the forest, where the spirit of an elderly leafeon was waiting.

"Good afternoon, Pelame," Albero said. "Are you, Pinna, and Neve ready for a fun festival?"

"We certainly are, Grandma," Pelame responded. "I just hate having to wait six years for the next time New Year's is on a Monday, if you know what I mean."

"Well, there is the occasional time where it's only five years. But I agree; the wait to see you just about re-kills me. But I can pass the time well enough. Paradise offers lots to do in addition to watching over you, my son, and my daughter-in-law. Although I always feel like I'm missing out on the perks of mortality. The world certainly has come far."

"Yep, it sure has," Pinna responded. "I'd hug whoever invented cars for four-legged Pokémon like myself."

"Yeah, there's lots of inventors your son would love to hug," Neve said to Albero.

"Personally," Pelame continued. "I'm just waiting for a film of _Jirachi's Final Wish_ to be made. I'd wait until the next Genesis Day after its release just so you and I can go see it together."

"Oh, you don't need to wait that long, dear," Albero responded. "If it comes out, see it. I'll observe your happiness from Paradise."

"By the way, I'm sorry to say that I'm not any closer to finding out why the book's first few chapters are blank. However, I've thought about applying at the Llyria Academy. Maybe I could get help from there in figuring that out."

"That's an excellent idea, Pelame. You're such a smart girl, they'd be fools to turn you away."

Pelame simply blushed and giggled at that remark.

"You'll go far, dear. I know you will. But for now, you deserve a break. You've got a whole Genesis Day to celebrate. I'm sure there's something at the festival you'll enjoy."

"Oh, certainly. There always is." Pelame then addressed her parents. "Would it be okay if I went ahead to the festival?"

"It's fine with me," Pinna said to his daughter.

"And me, too," Neve added. "We'll catch up once we're done visiting with Grandma Albero."

"Okay. Thanks!" Pelame answered. She then turned back to Albero and said, "Happy Genesis Day, Grandma! I'll see you again next time!"

"Have lots of fun, Pelame!" Albero said to her granddaughter.

* * *

The time was now four o'clock in the afternoon. So as not to cause any section of the planet to miss out or catch sneak previews, Genesis Day operated on one single time zone. Four o'clock PM in the Twilight Kingdom would also be four o'clock PM everywhere else, but only on this day. Each nation had their own method of celebrating this sacred day, and a festival was how the town of Promised Land, located in the country known as the Twilight Kingdom, celebrated it.

It was the year 1507, within which would be Pelame's ninth year of life. Yet this was the first she was allowed to be at the festival alone, having only been two years old last time Genesis Day happened. This was indeed a special day for her, although the best was yet to come.

It had been heavily publicized that the ruler of the Twilight Kingdom would be attending the festival this year, along with the captain of his guards. For the preceding month or so, advertisements in paper, television commercial breaks, billboards, and even commercials preceding feature films at the theatre had been hyping this occasion up. Pelame didn't mind the resulting crowds all that much, though she did find herself frequently glancing back at her backpack to make sure she wasn't pickpocketed. But Promised Land was known to have a rather low crime rate. Still, she liked being safer than sorrier.

Somehow, none of her supplies in her pack included a suitable dinner for her. But she had brought her wallet along, so she was set. She found the food stand with the shortest line she could see, and got into it. The line seemed to take eternities to move mere inches, almost tempting her to just leave and join a longer line that moved faster. It took lots of her will to remain where she was, in spite of her growling stomach. Her patience paid off at last once she reached the stand. She took her wallet out of her backpack. Before she could make her order, though, a sneasel came out of nowhere, running at high speeds. The sneasel didn't seem to be paying attention to where she was going, so she collided directly into Pelame, knocking her over. She stood right back up and kept on running.

"Look where you're going!" Pelame shouted toward the runner. "You could hurt someone or yourself!" Somehow, Pelame hadn't been moved out of the line, so she was still in the right spot to make her order to the employee medicham. "I'd like to have an Oran Berry Salad with an Enigma Berry Shake on the side, please."

"Certainly. That'll be a total of 6 Pokéns and 79 Parts," said the waiter.

It was then that Pelame noticed her wallet was missing. "Go ahead and cancel my order," she said sadly to the waiter. "My money's been stolen."

"Sorry about that, miss," the waiter responded with pity. "You ought to go see security about that. I've heard there's been a thief on the loose lately. To think a nice girl like you would be targeted like that, and on Genesis Day, of all days. That thief better hope he or she doesn't run into Captain Keldeo."

"Thanks, sir." Pelame then went on her way to the security office.

* * *

"And then, when I made my order, I found that my wallet was gone," Pelame concluded. "I can't believe I didn't notice until it was too late."

"Please don't blame yourself, miss Pelame," said the security guard vigoroth. "It's no one's fault but the thief's. Don't worry; we'll do all we can. To be honest, we've heard of this thief before, the sneasel with the big hips. She's struck at least four times today already, but we still haven't caught up to her. But we will. And when we do, we'll return your wallet to you."

"Thanks, officer."

"You're welcome. Until we catch up to that little big-rumped klepto, try to have a nice Genesis Day."

"You, too." With that, Pelame left the office. Just as soon as she did, a young riolu entered the office, bringing with him a sneasel who was tied up and gagged with an Aspear Scarf.

"Officer Vigoroth," he said. "I caught this one running off with a wallet, among other things."

"I can see that," Officer Vigoroth replied. "Thanks a lot, kiddo. Although, you should have left the restraining to us." He inspected the bound thief and confiscated her possessions. "You sure did a great job, though. Where'd you learn how to do this?"

"Enemy capture techniques as taught by Captain Keldeo," the riolu boy answered. "That guy's amazing; I'm learning all his secrets. By the way, could I return that wallet to that eevee girl?"

"Well, sure, I guess. But only because you've shown some trustworthiness by capturing this one. And also because she hasn't gone too far."

"Okay. Thank you, officer. Happy Genesis Day!" The young riolu boy then started after Pelame to return her stolen wallet.

Officer Vigoroth untied the scarf from around the sneasel's mouth. "One more day, and you would've had a theft spree of four consecutive months. But it's over now. You're under arrest."

"Well, wouldn't be my first time in jail," the sneasel retorted as she continued struggling against the ropes binding her. "Though I'm not excited to spend it trussed up like this."

"Those are staying on until you get to the cell. Then you'll be wearing a nice pair of PP-Zero Bracelets."

* * *

Just one amigiri roll wasn't nearly enough to satisfy Pelame's hunger, but the recent mishap left her no other choice. What was set to be a fun Genesis Day nearly instantly went downhill into misery.

"Hello there," a voice said to her. She looked up to see a young riolu boy holding her wallet. "Is this yours?"

"It is!" Pelame squealed, taking it back instantly. "Where'd you find it?!"

"In the wrong hands. A sneasel with big hips was running off with it. I just so happen to have tripped her by accident and then I saw all that stuff."

"Wow, that was lucky and awesome!"

"Well, it may not have been _that_ accidental. I _did_ see her knock you over. But anyway, you don't need to worry about that big-rumped klepto anymore. She's in custody now." Saying that reminded him of something. He then turned back to the security office and gave Officer Vigoroth a thumbs-up to signal that the wallet had been returned. At that moment, an announcement played over the festival's PA system.

"Attention all festival guests," Vigoroth said through the speakers. "The kleptomaniacal sneasel with the big hips has been apprehended, and everything she's stolen is here in the security office for pickup. For this you all have that young riolu boy from the tournament to thank. Be sure to get his name, too, because I foolishly forgot to. Too focused on jailing the little two-claw discount shopper. Happy Genesis Day!"

"By the way, my name is Pugno," the riolu boy introduced. "What's yours?"

"I'm Pelame," Pelame returned the formality.

Pugno developed a moderate smile on his face. "That is an absolutely adorable name," he mused. "It really fits a little cutie like you."

"Cutie?" Pelame laughed. "You think I'm cute?"

"Yes, I do. Anyone with working eyesight ought to be able to see that you are. Do you mind if I hang around with you for about an hour? My next match isn't until then."

"Sure! I'd love that!"

And so the two youngsters spent the next half hour having the time of their lives at the festival. They rode as many rides, played as many games, and ate as much food as they could in the allotted time. All this fun ended up making the two of them hungry, though. It was dinner time, after all. And as they both knew, meals were a good time to socialize and get to know one another.

"So, what was the big deal about that charmeleon plush you had your eye on?" Pugno asked. "Oh, and I'm sorry I wasn't able to win it for you."

"It's fine, Pugno. As for who that guy is, he's Taiyang," Pelame answered. "Have you ever heard the story _Jirachi's Final Wish_?"

"I have not, unfortunately."

"Oh, it's such a fantastic story! If we only had more time, I'd read it to you right now. But I'll give you the basic gist of the story."

"I'm fine, thanks. I'd like to experience it myself."

"Good idea. But that's why I wanted that plush so badly. He's the main character of that story. It's actually a true story, too. It's not just a fairy tale."

"Well, I'll definitely check that story out sometime."

"So, do you have any heroes?"

"Ten, actually." Pugno took a deep breath and listed off his ten heroes. "Seti, Leona, Walton, Sugimori, Patra, Antoinette, Value, Galileo, Hearst, and Captain Keldeo. _Especially_ Captain Keldeo! He's just about the entire reason I am who I am! You know that special restraining technique I used on that sneasel thief?"

"Did you learn it from him?"

"Yeah. Actually, it's more like I copied it from a training video he made. But still, he's the single biggest inspiration to me. I'd love to be a part of the Twilight Kingdom Royal Guard one day." Pugno had shared his dream. But with time growing short, he decided to let Pelame have her turn. "So, how about you? Do you have any dreams?"

"History. I want to be a historian. See this?" Pelame got out her history book and showed it to Pugno. "This is an anthology of historical accounts concerning the Legendary Pokémon. All kinds of stories are in here. But as you can see, this entire section here is all blank. It has to be the space of four or so chapters."

"What in the world happened to it?" Pugno couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Was it like this when you got it?"

"Yes, it was. In fact, my grandmother said that every single copy of this book had this happen to them, too. She said she saw it when she bought this copy for me."

"Wow." Pugno was just as lost as Pelame was on this issue. "That must drive every historian in the world insane. It would be great if you could be the one to solve this one."

"You think I could do it? It _is_ the reason I'm going to apply to Llyria Academy."

"It's worth a try."

Their recreational binge was broken by an announcement over the park's intercom.

"ALL FIGHTING TOURNAMENT FINALISTS PLEASE RETURN TO THE STADIUM. YOUR MATCH IS IN FIFTEEN MINUTES. FAILURE TO ARRIVE WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION. REPEAT, THE FINAL MATCH WILL START IN FIFTEEN MINUTES. FAILURE TO ARRIVE WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION."

"And that's my cue," Pugno said, finishing his slice of Sitrus Cake. "Wish me luck, Pelame."

"Good luck," Pelame responded. "I'll be watching."

"You will?"

"Sure. It's the least I can do to thank you for your help."

"Then you'd better hurry. Those seats fill up faster than a dodrio's top running speed. If there's even any seats left, that would be a miracle. Now let's go!"

And so the two went in the direction of the park's Recreation Hall, where the tournament was being held. Luckily, Pelame was able to find an empty seat. And even more coincidentally, Pinna and Neve were saving that seat just for her.

"Hi mom, hi dad," Pelame said, taking her seat. "How's Genesis Day been for you two so far?"

"Well, there hasn't yet been a boring moment of any Genesis Day," Pinna answered. "Every year tops the prior. Your mom and I have been having a wonderful time, especially when she proved my victory in the game that won us this!" Pinna showed Pelame a plush of a charmeleon. "For you."

Pelame snatched the doll practically out of Pinna's paws. "Oh, thank you so much! You're the best!"

"You're welcome. Happy Genesis Day."

"So, how was _your_ day, dear?" Neve asked her daughter. Pelame then explained her experiences.

"To be honest, it didn't start out that well. I got pickpocketed by a shapely sneasel and was flat broke for a little while, with only the one amigiri I brought with me as my only ration of food. But then things got way better as soon as I met a young riolu boy named Pugno. He's fighting in this tournament, by the way. He caught that thief and had her jailed, and I got back my wallet. And even better, everyone else got their stuff back, too. He and I spent the day riding rides, playing games, and shopping around. And now, as I promised, I'm here watching him fight his final fight."

"Well, this certainly was a fun day for all of us overall, then," Neve responded. "Well, I hope that Pugno boy wins. I'd love to meet him, too."

"Shush! The match is about to start!" Pinna said.

An exploud entered the ring, bringing no microphone with him. He cleared his throat and made his announcement.

"1507 HAS BEEN A GENESIS DAY TO STAND OUT AMONG THEM! WE'VE HAD QUITE A GREAT SCHEDULE THIS YEAR, NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH IS THE HISTORIC VISIT PAID TO US BY NONE OTHER THAN THE TWILIGHT KINGDOM'S OWN MONARCH HIMSELF, KING KANGASKHAN II!"

At that, every Pokémon in the building gave a standing ovation to welcome their King, who entered on that introductory cue.

"AND ALONG WITH HIM IS HIS CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD AND HEAD OF THE KINGDOM'S LAW ENFORCEMENT, CAPTAIN KELDEO!"

The ovation picked up right where it left off as the captain also entered.

"THE TWO OF THEM ARE OUR HONORED GUESTS THIS YEAR, SO LET US NOW MEET THE TOURNAMENT FINALISTS THAT WILL SURELY WOW THEM WITH A GREAT SHOWDOWN! IN THE RED CORNER IS THE FINALIST OF THE RED BRACKET! HAILING FROM PUMBLOOMBERG, OUR NEIGHBOR TO THE EAST, IS THE STRATEGIC AND PRECISE COMBAT OVERTHINKER, SPICY!"

The infernape standing in the Red Corner waved to the cheering crowd.

"AND IN THE GREEN CORNER IS THE FINALIST OF THE GREEN BRACKET, AND I MUST ADMIT, ONE OF MY FAVORITE FIGHTERS I'VE EVER SEEN IN ALL MY YEARS AT THIS EVENT, LET ALONE THE ENTIRE SPORT OF POKEMON BATTLING! HAILING FROM OUR VERY OWN TOWN OF PROMISED LAND, THE NEWLY-RISEN PRIDE OF THE PARK, PUGNO!"

Pugno waved to the cheering crowd, as well as giving a thumbs-up to Pelame. He briefly did a double-take when he noticed who she was sitting next to.

_"Pinna?! Pinna's her father?"_ he thought to himself. His mind soon returned to the ring.

"Would you like to give the starting signal, Your Majesty?" Exploud asked. The King nodded in agreement as he accepted the unused microphone from the hammy announcer.

"Citizens of the Twilight Kingdom," King Kangaskhan II began, addressing his subjects. "You have all made me a proud Pokémon. I would never be who I am without help from all of you. I am honored to have spent this fine Genesis Day among such great company. And so, I am looking forward to seeing a spectacular final match between these two fierce combatants. And as a special prize to the winner, he will receive a chance to engage my very own Captain Keldeo in a special match. Is that okay with you, Captain?"

"Definitely!" Captain Keldeo answered. "Peacetime doesn't give me much exercise!"

"And now, let the final match begin!"

At the sound of the bell, the two combatants were immediately at it. Spicy began with a Stone Edge attack, which Pugno avoided by jumping over. Upon his landing, he triggered a hard-hitting Earthquake attack. Landing inches in front of his adversary did some heavy damage to the opposing Infernape, who wasn't conceding an inch. He took his chance to strike the young Riolu's legs with a Low Sweep. As soon as he fell to the ground, Spicy used Stone Edge once more to deal more damage to the boy, knocking him into the air. He got his Flame Charge ready to finish the match with. As soon as the Flame Charge made contact, Pugno Countered it, dealing another heavy hit and knocking him to the ground flat on his back. Exploud, who was also serving as the referee, began his count.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,…"

Spicy was up on the count of six, and the match continued.

"Well, no combat slouch can keep up with me," Spicy said, complimenting Pugno.

"Same to you, Mister Spicy," Pugno returned. "The King ought to be proud."

With those encouraging words exchanged, the two resumed their fight. Spicy took note of Pugno's Counter, and so decided to start on a special note by using Flamethrower. The flames came too quickly to respond to, putting Pugno in quite a predicament, especially since multiple blasts came one after another. It was risky, but he decided to chance his just-thought-up idea anyway, out of desperation to stop that salvo. He ran directly into Spicy's Flamethrower attack and aimed an Ice Punch directly at his opponent's mouth. Spicy's mouth froze shut, giving Pugno the chance to do a follow-up attack. And with another Earthquake attack, Spicy was down on the ground once again.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5,…"

Spicy was quite persistent. Even now, he didn't back down, not even with his mouth frozen shut. He had to admit to being surprised that this had worked out so well for his opponent. The ice muzzling him was only remotely budging is response to his body flames. He had only his lowered stamina to blame for not being able to raise the temperature high enough to melt it faster. But there was no time to mull over that. He could still fight with his chosen physical moves. And so he began with another Flame Charge. But Pugno was in overall better shape. He could afford to take another one of those, so he prepared to Counter it. Spicy stopped just before colliding into Pugno, opting instead to do another Low Sweep attack. He did so with such speed that Pugno ended up on the ground with a rather painful landing.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,…"

"Pugno, you've got this!" Pelame shouted from the stands. "Get up!"

"9,…"

Encouraged by the young eevee's words, Pugno rose to his feet one count away from losing. The match was still on. And he knew just what to do. He noticed the ice muzzle on his opponent was weakening, and if it did, the resulting Flamethrower would put an end to his winning streak. He rushed to his opponent to try another point-blank Earthquake attack, which was avoided with a jump. But this was what he was hoping for. He then jumped after Spicy, who had just finally undone the ice muzzle. Just as he got ready to launch another Flamethrower, Pugno connected with another Ice Punch, muzzling him all over again. A Brick Break attack followed it, sending Spicy to the ground, shattering his ice muzzle on contact with the ground. The Exploud referee came forward with the results.

"TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT! PUGNO WINS!"

The room's entire attendance erupted in absolute ecstasy at the match. It certainly was a sight for them to have beheld. Pugno could hardly believe it himself. Even Spicy was applauding him.

"Great going, little boy," he said. "I never thought I'd lose to a kid. But that sure was a great Genesis Day memory you gave me."

"Oh, thanks, sir," Pugno responded. "For a minute there, I thought you were gonna beat me."

"Me, too. If you can, give the King my best regards. And for the record, I used to think Kangaskhans could only be born female."

"Yeah, that's usually the case. He's actually the third Kangaskhan in the entire world's history to have been born male. But, if I can, I'll tell him you said 'hello.' I'm sure he was impressed by your fighting skills."

"Not as impressed as I'm sure he was of yours."

The two shook hands, and then Spicy left the ring.

"AS THE KING PROMISED, THERE WILL BE ONE FINAL MATCH FOR OUR NEW CHAMPION! SO EVERYONE PLEASE RETURN HERE IN FIFTEEN MINUTES! YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS IT!"

* * *

_"This is the best Genesis Day ever,"_ Pugno thought to himself as he stretched himself out on the bench outside the Recreation Hall's front door to rest for a bit.

"Hi, Pugno!"

The young riolu turned his head to face Pelame, whose face was beaming with excitement.

"That was epic!" she complimented. "Where'd you learn how to fight like that?!"

"Same way anyone would, by lots of rigorous training," Pugno answered. "My parents told me I'd have to if I wanted to be a part of the Twilight Kingdom Guard, so I wasted no time in seeking out teachers to teach me. That, and that training video Captain Keldeo starred in. By the way, Pelame, you never mentioned Pinna's your father."

Pelame was confused. "I didn't?"

"Nope."

"Goodness, that sure was absentminded of me. Sorry."

"It's okay. But with someone like him as your father, I'm sure _you'd_ have been a finalist in this tournament, too."

"Well, I'm flattered," Pinna said, overhearing that part of the conversation as he walked by them on his way inside the Hall. "You know of me?"

Pugno immediately hopped off the bench and went to shake Pinna's paw. "Of course I know of you! Captain Keldeo's my greatest hero, so of course I'd know of his right-hoof Lieutenant Pinna, too!"

"Me? A hero?" Pinna blushed at the compliment.

"THE SPECIAL MATCH IS BEGINNING IN FIVE MINUTES! EVERYONE, PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR SEATS! COMBATANTS, PLEASE RETURN TO THE RING!"

"Sounds like you're up," Pinna said to Pugno. "By the way, thanks for showing my daughter a great time! And tell my old Captain I said 'hello!'"

"Will do!"

* * *

"AND NOW FOR A BRAND-NEW EVENT! PUGNO, OUR GENESIS DAY TOURNAMENT CHAMPION, SHALL BE TAKING ON THE TWILIGHT KINGDOM'S VERY OWN CAPTAIN KELDEO! ALTHOUGH THIS MATCH HAS NO PRIZE OTHER THAN BRAGGING RIGHTS SHOULD PUGNO WIN, THIS SURE WILL BE ONE TO STAY HANGING ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEATS FOR! THIS MATCH WILL STILL ADHERE TO POKEMON BATTLE RULES: ONLY FOUR MOVES OUT OF THE COMBATANTS' KNOWN MOVES MAY BE USED! AND NOW, THE COMBATANTS ENTER!"

Pugno entered the ring from the green side while Keldeo entered from the red side. The two met in the center. Pugno had to work hard to still his pounding heart.

"I've waited my entire life to meet you, sir," Pugno said, managing to stay calm. "It's such an honor."

"It's always nice to meet a fan," Keldeo responded kindly. "Especially one as skilled as yourself. I may be an icon to you, but please don't hold back."

"I won't, sir!"

"LET THE MATCH BEGIN!" The bell sounded, and the match was on.

Pugno knew his hero well, but he still wasn't prepared for this. His famous Aqua Jet and Sacred Sword combo got Pugno on the word "go," knocking him to the ropes. Keldeo sure didn't become the Captain for no reason, after all. Pugno sure had his work cut out for him. But he had promised not to hold back against his hero, though it was now clear that any less than his best wouldn't be enough for this fight. So, when Keldeo came back around for another Sacred Sword strike, Pugno Countered it. But that only worked to only remotely slow the Captain down, as he turned around sharply and lashed out with an Aqua Tail attack. Though the Captain's tail was cut short, it still hurt a lot to be hit by it. Or, it would have if Pugno was any slower than he was. He managed to duck under it just in time, and he then landed a Brick Break attack, hitting the Captain's rear end. He briefly flinched in pain, giving his biggest fan a chance to land another Brick Break attack on him, knocking him to the ground.

"1,…"

But this was nowhere near adequate enough to win the fight with. And as soon as he got back up, all it took was one Close Combat attack to knock Pugno to the ground.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,…"

"Don't hold back!" Pelame called again from the stands. "Give him your best shot!"

"9, 10!"

But Pugno couldn't rise to his feet in time, not after a vicious blow like that. His time was up.

"CAPTAIN KELDEO WINS! BOY WAS THAT AN EXCITING MATCH! ONE FULL MINUTE OF NONSTOP EXCITEMENT! I DIDN'T THINK THAT KID WOULD LAST _HALF_ THAT LONG AGAINST THE CAPTAIN! HOW ABOUT A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR HIM?!"

The crowd responded accordingly with a loud applause. Both combatants left the ring with high spirits.

_"Well, what chance did I have against him anyway?"_ Pugno thought to himself. _"Still, that was amazing!"_ As soon as he reached the entry hall, someone called out to him.

"Pugno, wait a second!"

Captain Keldeo had followed him.

"Captain? Shouldn't you be with the King?" Pugno inquired.

"In a sec," he answered. "I just wanted to congratulate you for giving me a decent workout. It's not every fan that can last a full sixty seconds in battle against me."

"Thanks, sir. Though, honestly, you outclass me so thoroughly, an onix has a better chance swimming in Lake Llyria."

Keldeo let out a small chuckle at that quip. "Well, I wouldn't put it _that_ drastically. Oh, and by the way, nice shot." He gestured toward his behind. "I think I'll be feeling _that_ tomorrow morning."

"Sorry about that."

"Oh, it's fine. Like I said, you gave me a decent workout. With more training, you could make it into the Royal Guard easily."

"I could?!"

"Certainly. Now then, I'd like to give you a special gift for you to remember this day by. Smile."

Pugno did as told. The Captain then leaned down, smiled, and turned toward a passing furfrou with a Kabuki cut and a camera. "Sugimori! Picture, please."

"Yes, sir," responded the furfrou. The picture was taken and printed out the slot on the camera's front. After about a minute, it developed. Keldeo then took a pen out of his side pack and signed the bottom border of it. He then flipped it over and wrote something on the back of it. He then gave the photo to Pugno.

"For you," he said, bestowing the photo to his loyal fan. "Happy Genesis Day!"

"Happy Genesis Day to you, too!" Pugno cried. "Thank you so much!" He then gave the Captain a big hug.

"No. Thank _you_ so much!" And with that, the Captain went back to accompany the King, followed by his loyal furfrou guard.

* * *

"Well, Pugno, I only just met you today, but I'm already jealous!" Pelame admitted after hearing Pugno recount his meeting with Captain Keldeo.

"Oh no!" Pugno cried. "I forgot to tell him you said 'hi' to him, Pinna!"

Pinna simply laughed in response to that. "It's no big deal, kid. It wasn't _that_ important."

"Well, it seems like you two hit it off," Neve summarized. "Want to exchange phone numbers?"

"I'd love to!" Pugno and Pelame both responded. And so, they gave each other their phone numbers.

"Well, I gotta be going home now," Pugno said. "Happy Genesis Day!"

"See you later, Pugno!" Pelame called after him. "Happy Genesis Day to you, too!" With nothing else to do, Pelame and her parents returned home. All the way home, Pelame couldn't get that nice riolu boy off her mind. And on the other side of Promised Land, Pugno couldn't stop thinking about that cute eevee girl. It sure looked like the beginning of a great friendship.


	2. Off to Lake Llyria

Chapter 2 – Off to Lake Llyria

* * *

That Genesis Day Festival was one neither Pelame nor Pugno could ever forget. Since then, the two developed an amazing friendship with one another. Though they went to different high schools, they still were able to schedule outings every now and then. This pattern kept up for two years, and on this very day was the day they got back responses from the Llyria Academy.

_To Pelame,_

_ The Llyria Academy staff is pleased to inform you that you are eligible to attend our two-week Orientation at Lake Llyria. The Orientation will begin on Seventhmonth 6th and end on Seventhmonth 19th. Details will be explained by the academy president on the opening day. We hope to see you there._

_Sincerely,  
Llyria Academy Staff_

As soon as Pelame finished reading the letter, her house's phone rang.

"Hello?" Pinna said, answering the phone. "Yes, Pelame's home. I'll let her on." He turned to his daughter. "Pugno wants to talk to you. I might just know what it's about." He then gave the phone over.

"Hi, Pugno," Pelame greeted through the phone. Pugno was speaking in a very excited tone on the other end of the line, though Pelame could follow it just fine. "Really?! Me too!"

"Looks like we'll be going to the Orientation Camp together, then!" Pugno said in glee. "This is perfect!"

"Just one more week until the 6th, too! We'll see each other again before you know it!"

"Actually, Pelame, why wait until then? Why not meet up on the 4th?"

"The 4th? Is something special happening that day?"

"Well, of course. I saw on TV a trailer for a certain movie I thought you'd love to see. I'm sure you know of it. It's called _Jirachi's Final Wish_."

Pelame went completely silent upon hearing that.

"Pelame? You there?"

Then Pugno suddenly got an answer in the form of an excited squeal.

"I'd _love_ that so much!" Pelame practically screamed into the phone. "I can hardly wait!"

"It's a date, then!" Pugno responded, though his ears were still ringing. "Is it okay with your parents?"

"Just a sec." Pelame set the phone down briefly and asked permission from Pinna and Neve. The two responded to their daughter's query with a joyful and trusting, "I hope you two have lots of fun!" Pelame then picked the phone back up.

"Yep, it's a date!" Pelame answered.

"Excellent! My parents okayed it, too! All right, see you then!"

"See you then!" Pelame and Pugno then hung up their respective house phones. After that, Pinna called Pugno's house right back, having gotten an idea.

* * *

The anticipated date came at last, after what seemed like multiple eternities. Pelame's and Pugno's parents had given them another reason to be excited for the fourth day of Seventhmonth besides the movie. The plan was in regards to traveling to the orientation. As Lake Llyria was over 1,000 kilometers west of Promised Land, it would take half a day to drive there. So Pelame's and Pugno's parents had worked out a travel plan to begin driving there after the movie ended.

And so, they had all arrived in town square at their agreed time of 1:00PM, half an hour before the film was set to start. That gave them time to get the tickets for the show and get their seats.

"I thought there'd have been more Pokémon here to see this film," Pugno said, noticing that the theatre had only been filled to half capacity.

"Others take critics too seriously," responded Pugno's lucario father, Jackle. "Either that, or the studio that made this film drove them away."

"Really? How?" Pinna asked.

"Well, what we're about to see was made by Sivik-Ripney, the same studio and crew who made the film of _Paths of Time_. As your daughter knows, that was an absolutely disastrous adaptation of that story, and the critics said that, too."

"I still enjoyed it," Pelame interjected. "I mean, it would have been nice if they stuck closer to the story, but for what the movie did, it did it well enough. Besides, I'm willing to give the studio another chance. Maybe they'll get this one right."

"Is that why this movie wasn't even screened for critics?" asked a young paras in the seat to Pelame's right.

"Maybe."

The previews had then finished, and the film started up.

* * *

The film had reached its climax when a minor incident happened. The paras next to Pelame had been getting more and more apprehensive every time the film's villain, a parasect named Fungus, appeared. And now that it appeared he'd defeat the film's hero, a charmeleon named Taiyang, the paras had had enough. He took off running out of the theatre in terror. He had left about six minutes too soon, since everything in the film ended up working out fine, and the film ended on an uplifting note.

_"That poor kid,"_ Pelame thought as the credits started up. The theatre's small attendance then emptied out.

* * *

"So, how did you like it?" Pugno's tyrogue mother Beltier asked both the kids.

"It was the absolute best!" Pelame cried.

"Every bit as great as Pelame built it up to be!" Pugno joined. "If only we could have a home video to watch in the car!"

"Well, I must admit this was the perfect way to start our trip," Neve added. "You two ready to travel?"

"We were born ready!" Pelame and Pugno answered in unison.

"Then let's put some road behind us!" Jackle said.

As Jackle and Beltier had a van as opposed to the sedan Pinna and Neve had, the former was the better choice for a long trip. Now that the movie was over, it was time to get in there and go.

"That's kinda funny," Pugno said as he buckled his seatbelt. "I thought the car would've been broken into, but then I remembered that that sneasel burglar is still in jail."

The van was then started up, and they were on their way. The time was 3:50 PM.

* * *

The trip to Lake Llyria was too long to take all in one day, so the travelers took a brief stop at a small motel in the small tourist trap town of Pathway. Pathway was a rather small town, but it was known for its sights, which were regarded as some of the best in the Twilight Kingdom. The sights there were topped only by the capital city itself. Pelame had some fond memories of this place, such as the giant climbing tree her grandmother had helped her reach the top of long ago.

"Remind me to take you back here sometime, Pugno," Pelame whispered to him as they followed their parents into their booked room. "Just in case a semester break comes up and allows us to travel."

"Will do," Pugno answered. "I've sure got some memories of this place I'd love to revis—"

"Gangway!" shouted a Pokémon Pugno nearly bumped into. He looked in the direction he was walking and noticed an annoyed chubby pikachu standing there holding a video camera. "Sheesh, I can't even turn a corner without bumping into someone camera-first?"

"Pardon us," Pelame apologized.

"Well, my camera's fine, so there's no problem," responded the pikachu. "Sure wouldn't want to lose the footage I got of my road trip so far." He then looked down to the ground, filming it. "I saw you come out of that one. You're traveling, too?"

"We sure are," Pugno answered. "Pelame and I are going to Lake Llyria."

"Hey, so am I! What a great coincidence!"

"What are the odds?"

The three young Pokémon shared a short chuckle at the lucky circumstance.

"I'm Torden," the pikachu introduced. "How do you do?"

"I'm Pelame," Pelame returned the formality. "And this is Pugno. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, you two made a new friend?" Neve asked as she walked by.

"New friend?" Torden asked. "We just met. I'd say we're at least acquaintances. But I'm open to making it a friendship."

"Well, that's very nice. I take it you're also leading to Lake Llyria?"

"That's correct."

"Well, Pelame," Neve addressed her daughter. "Looks like you just met a future classmate."

"I gotta go now," Torden said, rushed. "Dad's expecting me back in a few minutes." He then went on his way down to his motel room. "See you tomorrow!"

Neve then went into her motel room, with Pelame and Pugno following her inside. "Tomorrow, we finish the trip. So let's not miss an hour of sleep."

"Good night, mom," Pelame said.

"Good night, Mrs. Neve," Pugno added. "Good night, Mr. Pinna, mom, and dad."

And so, the four turned in early.

* * *

The date was now Seventhmonth 5th, 1509, and the time was now 9:45 AM. It was an ideal time to get going. They'd be at the lake by about 4 o'clock in the afternoon at this rate.

"Everyone ready?" Neve asked.

"Everyone relieved?" Pinna added, receiving a gentle disapproving nudge from his wife.

"Yep," the kids answered.

"For the record, we are, too," Pugno's parents answered. "Like you had to ask."

"All right, then. Lake Llyria, here we come!" With Pinna's rallying call, they were off.

* * *

Compared to yesterday's drive, today's was rather dull. Not much other than highway occupied the remaining path, but once they arrived at Llyria County, it was a welcome sight. At last, the destination, and since there was one day to spare before the orientation started, all the better it was.

"The island in the middle of the lake, as well as all its cabins, is reserved for the Llyria Academy Orientation," the receptionist solosis said. "But all the other cabins on the shores are available. We had lots of vacancies earlier, but with the influx of Llyria applicants going to the orientation tomorrow, we're down to only three vacancies. You have a choice between these two, since they're the only remaining ones that'll house four or more."

"That one, then," Pinna said, pointing to the one pictured on the left side of the brochure he was handed. "For one night."

"That'll be 471 Pokéns for the rental, then." Pinna paid the amount. "Enjoy your stay." The solosis receptionist gave Pinna the keys to the cabin. "And don't forget to attend the dinner tonight for Llyria applicants. It's going to be at 6 o'clock tonight in the Cape Cabin."

"Will do."

One more short drive, and they got to their rented cabin.

"And tomorrow, we'll be helping you pack up your island dorm rooms," Jackle said.

"Cool, thanks," Pelame said. "I can't wait until tomorrow."

"Me neither," Pugno added. "Good thing we have a whole lake to entertain us. Wanna go swimming?"

"Sure. But you won't make it to the water before me!"

"Two legs are faster than four, you know!" With that challenge, the two raced each other to the shore.

"Be back by 5:30 PM so we can all get ready for the dinner!" Beltier called after the kids.

* * *

Time flew by at a dodrio's pace, and it was already time to get ready for the big dinner. As told by their parents to, Pelame and Pugno returned to the cabin to get themselves ready. Pinna and Neve tied Pelame's favorite white bow onto her right ear and helped her style her neck fur in a fancy look. Jackle and Beltier tied Pugno's favorite cobalt bow onto his collar.

"Just a sec, I'd like to get a picture of this," Pinna said, getting out a camera. Under his instruction, the two kids stood next to each other and smiled for a nice portrait. "All righty! I'm starving!"

The four then set off for the Cape Cabin, located at the highest point overlooking the lake.

* * *

The Cape Cabin was packed almost to capacity, full of Llyria Academy applicants and their parents. Pelame, Pugno, and their parents were lucky enough to get a spot near the front stage, where the announcements were to be made. The food wasn't yet served, much to the dismay of Pinna and his growling stomach. It would be time to serve food soon, but the announcements had to be made.

"Good evening," said the simisage standing in front of a microphone. "Don't worry; I won't keep you from food for long." That comment got a few laughs, as well as a "then get on with it!" from Pinna. The simisage then continued. "I am the Headmaster of Llyria Academy, Professor Kudzu. And on behalf of all the Academy staff, as well as the generous staff of the Lake Resort, I'd like to welcome all of you to what I'm going to call Day 0 of the orientation. And also, kudos to you all for making it in. Now then, with me are the heads of all the educational departments. It's their turn now."

"After me, of course," said a sawsbuck who approached the podium. "I'm Professor Prongs, the Dean of Llyria Academy. Okay, _now_ it's time for the Department heads to introduce themselves."

Coming forward were an ampharos, a beedrill, an alakazam, a virizion, a lopunny, a slowking, a dragonite, a swampert, and a zoroark.

"I'm Professor Henry, head of the Technological Science Department," said the ampharos.

"I'm Professor Spear, head of the Wildlife and Horticulture Department," said the beedrill.

"I'm Professor Bibli, head of the History Department," said the alakazam.

"I'm Professor Snapper, one of the two heads of the Combat Department," said the virizion.

"I'm Professor Adorbs, head of the Psychology and Mental Health Department," said the lopunny.

"I'm Professor Euclid, head of the Mathematics and Architecture Departments," said the slowking.

"I'm Professor Caius, head of the Ocean Science Department," said the dragonite.

"I'm Professor Tectarro, head of the Geological Science Department," said the swampert.

"And I'm Professor Aramir, the other of the two heads of the Combat Department," said the zoroark.

"And that concludes the introductions," Professor Kudzu said. "One more announcement: the orientation camp starts tomorrow at 11 o'clock AM. And now, it's your long-awaited dinnertime!"

"At last!" Pinna said to himself, taking off like a missile to the serving tables.

Over at the next table, Torden's manectric father spoke to him as quietly as he could. "You're free to enroll in any one of those professors' classes, except Adorbs's. Understand?"

"Yes, dad," Torden answered.

* * *

A night as fun as this wasn't to end with a simple dinner. With an okay from their parents, Pelame and Pugno decided to make a date out of this. And so, they rented a paddleboat and took it out on the lake to take in the sights. They paddled around half of the lake's perimeter, stopping at a sight that excited the both of them. The film of _Jirachi's Final Wish_ was being screened specially for VIP guests. Even though they'd already seen the film, they decided to see it again. They got out of the boat, docked it, and climbed up to the top of the cape overlooking the inlet where the film was playing. To them, the film was just as great this time as it was yesterday. When the film ended, the two decided not to leave just yet.

"Now that the screen's off, it's a lot easier to see the night sky, isn't it?" Pugno asked. "I just noticed how adorable your eyes look in the night." Pelame blushed at the compliment.

"It's doing your eyes wonders, too," Pelame returned. After that, nothing was said for a little while. Suddenly, the two leaned in close and shared a short but sweet kiss. After they pulled away, they were quite surprised at themselves and each other for this act. But it was a pleasant surprise, the perfect kind to end a fun night with.


	3. Llyria Orientation Camp Week One

Chapter 3 – Llyria Orientation Camp Week One

* * *

All had gone according to the travel plan that Pinna, Neve, Jackle, and Beltier had put together. Now that their childrens' belongings were unpacked into their shared dorm room on the island in the middle of Lake Llyria, their part was over. After a heartfelt goodbye, their parents left the lake and headed on back home.

"Our birds have left the nest…" Neve said, summarizing the situation. The kids definitely were growing up.

* * *

"At long last, it's _US_ time!" Torden announced with gusto. "No more parents for two weeks! And then after that, give or take a few visits, years! Adulthood RULES!"

"We're not adults yet, Torden," Pugno replied in a deadpan tone. "Not until you turn fourteen years old, and I'm certain you're nowhere _near_ that age."

"Hey, I've got two years until I turn fourteen. It's close enough."

"Could've fooled me. Your attitude makes you look younger."

"I see. Well, your short stature makes _you_ look like a _hatchling!_"

"Why don't you tell _that_ to your bulging gut?!"

"I've got a better idea," Pelame interjected. "If you two would like to accompany me to the orientation—which, need I remind you is in one hour?—that would be _just great_."

"Very well, then," Torden answered. "Though I'd like to know who made you my new mom."

"Sorry, Pelame," Pugno answered, though his voice wasn't completely filled with regret. He was more surprised, though, that Pelame had asserted herself, something he'd only seen her do four other times in the two years he'd known her. But he did feel the need to defend his behavior. "It's just that he seemed so happy to be away from his family," he whispered to her as they walked to the center of the island. "What kind of an ungrateful brat _does_ that?"

"Well, I agree it's rude to feel that way about one's own family," Pelame whispered back. "But I don't think he feels that way for no reason. Why not ask him?"

"Ahem," Torden interrupted. He pointed to his ears, saying, "I love these things. So, to answer your question, it's not that I'm ungrateful. It's that I have the worst dad in the world. I'm not allowed to enroll in any class taught by Professor Adorbs thanks to him!"

"Why not?"

"As far as I know and care, no reason! Though I think it's because she's a woman, and except for my mom, he doesn't like women. Or shiny Pokémon. Or basically anyone who isn't alike to him. He wouldn't even let me date this gorgeous rattata I knew in high school just because she was shiny and also female!" Then Torden's tone changed to be upbeat. "But now, he's not here. So now, I'm free to be the pikachu I _want_ to be!"

Pelame and Pugno had no time to comment on any of this, as the three had just reached the middle of the island, where many applicants were gathered around the plaza. They took the first seats they could find, placing them behind a few applicants that only slightly blocked their view of the plaza, where there was a small stage placed.

"Good morning, everyone!" Professor Kudzu greeted. "I am very pleased to say to all of you that your applications to my academy have gotten you accepted. As I promised in the letter to all of you invited you here, I will now explain the details of the orientation camp."

All of the department heads entered the stage.

"You will all be enrolled in special courses taught by each of the department heads. Each daily session will last one full hour, give or take a few minutes depending on circumstances. At the end of the orientation camp, your results will determine exactly what level class you'll be placed in, as well as a recommendation for a major for you to pursue. On the final day, you will take an overall final test that will factor in your grades for all these courses. Do not worry; low scores will not reflect negatively on your overall GPA, as this is not an official semester. This is all merely a diagnostic so we know where to place you once the new school year officially starts. Think of this as a sort of summer camp, or even a field trip. And most of all, have fun! And I wish you all the best of luck!"

* * *

First on the program was a demonstration of technology by Professor Henry, which was held in the computer lab on the island's western area. Pelame, Pugno, and Torden took their seats.

"Hi there, everyone," Henry greeted. "I'm pleased to meet all of you."

"WOOHOO! HENRY, YOU RULE!" Torden shouted.

"Thanks for that bombastic compliment. Now anyway, have I got an amazing treat for all of you today! See those screen things in front of you? Tell me, what are they?"

Torden enthusiastically raised his hand. To his glee, he was called on.

"These are called computers, of course!" Torden answered. "Whoever doesn't know what a computer is has no life!"

"Part of me agrees with that," Henry muttered under his breath. He then continued in a normal tone. "That's right! But that's not what I'm demonstrating today. Computers, believe it or not, have been around for close to a decade now, and I was a leading developer on computers for any Pokémon who lacks hands, or fingers, in my case. However, lately, I have been collaborating with a team of professional computer scientists to create a special network. Until now, this revolutionary creation has existed in the comfortable privacy of the nations' governments as a method to exchange information with one another. But now, we've brought it to all of you, the citizens of the world. We call this creation the 'Internet!' Everyone, please switch on the computers in front of you. The power switch is on the small tower next to the monitor. That's for all of you."

All the applicants did as told.

"Now then, while we're waiting for the computers to load, I'd like to introduce a special guest. Enjinkumo, want to join me?"

From the back of the room, a galvantula walked up to the front and stood next to Henry.

"He's an old childhood friend of mine, and a member of the gigantic team that created the commercial Internet. Some of you may know him as the governor of Denkidako, the technological center of our neighbor to the very far east, Shizazoto."

"Shizazoto's one continent east of Pumbloomberg and Tradja, right?" Pugno whispered to Pelame, who nodded in response.

"It's nice to meet you all," Enjinkumo said. "I must say, it's refreshing visiting the Twilight Kingdom again. So, is everyone ready to see the Internet in action?"

"Born ready!" answered the entire class.

"Henry, if you please."

On Enjinkumo's signal, Henry opened up a web browser on the frontmost computer.

"And by the way, note how despite not having fingers, I can still type on this thing," Henry lectured. "Not to brag, but I helped design this keyboard for fingerless Pokémon like myself. Pokémon with four or more legs, or basically any Pokémon with no hands at all, have me to thank that they can even use computers as well as anyone with hands and fingers. I also took the liberty of installing those keyboards in front of you to suit your needs."

As Henry spoke of those accommodations, Enjinkumo got to work hooking up a projector to show on the wall what Henry was doing. He was currently on a page where the word "Twang" was shown in big pink letters. Below that giant word was a small box with the word "search" in a smaller box next to it.

"The team got to work on a multitude of websites," Henry lectured. "And many are still in development. But up and running are sites for shopping, research, games, and electronic mail, or email for short. However, as the commercial Internet is a new invention that launches tomorrow, how will anyone know where to start? Well, that's what 'Twang' is for! This goes into another category we call 'search engines.' To demonstrate, I will take suggestions on what to look up."

At that, everyone's hands went up in a heartbeat.

"The King's date of succession!" Pelame suggested.

"Very good," Henry complimented. He then typed in "King Kangaskhan II" into the search bar. The first result to appear was a history site. "At this point would be a good time to let you know how search results are organized. As more Pokémon visit websites, the Internet itself keeps track of how often each site is visited. The term is 'hits,' and Twang organizes search results according to the number of hits. Now then, let's have a look." Henry clicked on the first result. "It says here that King Kangaskhan II succeeded King Samurott X and Queen Kangaskhan LXII on Eighthmonth 22nd, 1477. And simple math will tell you that that date will be the thirty-second anniversary of his succession."

"And if you ask me," Enjinkumo interjected. "He's the best king this Kingdom has had in a long time."

"Anyone else want a turn?"

"Sivik-Ripney filmography!" suggested another student.

"My favorite studio," Henry giggled. As he typed the studio's name in, he asked, "Wasn't _Jirachi's Final Wish _amazing? I think it more than made up for the disaster that was _Paths of Time_, huh? Here we go." He then clicked on the studio's homepage. "Wow, that's quite a list. Sorry, but there's not enough time to read it all. In fact, the last thing I have time to show you is electronic mail. Everyone go to the Llyria homepage. Type into Twang to find it faster."

After doing what they were told, the applicants stopped in their tracks. The site's layout was very confusing.

"Yeah, I wish I could've made it easier, too," Henry said apologetically. "I know it's out of the way, but click on the word 'student,' please. Then type in your name in the box labeled 'name,' and you're in. We'll be updating the site today so that you'll need a password to get in, so don't count on it being this easy next time. And once you're in there, go to 'inbox.' There, you'll see an email from me, which I want you to type a response to. Once you're done with that, click 'send.' And everyone, please don't badmouth me in your responses."

And so the applicants composed their responses and sent them back to Henry's email inbox, taking care not to hurt his feelings. With that, this session was dismissed. On the way out, Henry told the applicants, "Check your email again tonight, everyone! Whichever one of you made my favorite response will hear back from me that way! See you all tomorrow!"

* * *

After eight more classes, the day was over. The applicants all had a hearty dinner in the island's Chow Hall, and then went on the way back to their dorms.

"I bet I know which one was your favorite class today, Pelame," Pugno said as he and Pelame started walking back to their dorms.

"Me and history go hand in hand," Pelame answered, knowing who Pugno was referring to. "Of course Professor Bibli's class was the best one! How could he _not_ be?"

"Yeah, he was pretty neat, but he's got _nothing_ on Professor Aramir. If only you could stand on two legs, you'd be eligible for his class."

"Well, Professor Snapper was pretty neat. But her class is for the four-legged Pokémon—"

The conversation was cut short by the sight of a Pokémon near their dorm. It was a familiar figure that neither one was too pleased to see, especially Pugno, who rushed up to the figure and tackled her to the ground.

"If those claws made even the slightest touch on our stuff, you'll lose them forever," he threatened. "Now tell us what you're doing here, Sneasel."

"Just _living_ here," she answered curtly. "Did you decide to make _that_ illegal, too, you wannabe cop?"

"Then what were you doing near our dorm?!"

"Your dorm happens to be on my way home. It's not like I can help passing it by. Now will you let me get up?!"

Pugno reluctantly obliged, but not before softly gripping Sneasel by the throat. "Tell me all that again." Once she did, Pugno released her.

"Okay, wanna tell me why you strangled me just now?!"

"I wasn't strangling you. I was feeling for carotid artery movement. If you had lied to me just now, it would have twitched, but it didn't."

"What's all the commotion out here?" Torden asked, arriving on the scene. His attention and focus went straight to Sneasel as soon as she stood back up. He immediately approached her and grabbed her hands. "My word, I don't think I've seen a more gorgeous sneasel in my life."

Pelame and Pugno couldn't adequately respond to the advance Torden made on Sneasel.

"My name is Blessing, kiddo," she responded. "And I was on my way back home. So, I'd like to get going now."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Hopefully not." With that, Blessing went on her way. Torden didn't seem at all fazed at the apparent rejection.

"Wow. That's the nicest figure I've ever seen on a sneasel."

"_What was that?"_ Pelame asked through gritted teeth.

"Whoa, hey, calm down," Torden replied, sounding a bit intimidated. "I was just joking around."

"For your sake, I hope you were," Pugno added. "Pelame and I _really_ don't take kindly to lecherous remarks like that. You know, maybe _that's_ why your dad won't let you near Professor Adorbs. And by the way, we're not telling you how her class went today. You'd best keep staying out of those classes."

"Yeah, okay, _dad!_ Sor-ry!" Torden then stomped off to his dorm. Pelame and Pugno then went to theirs as well.

* * *

"What is Ho-oh's job in Shizazoto culture in regards to the emperor?" Professor Bibli asked the class.

"He gives a sacred blessing to the new emperor and wishes them a healthy rule," Pelame answered.

It was now day five of the orientation camp, and Pelame was passing the History course with flying colors. This was her twenty-ninth correct answer in this class session. It seemed as though there was nothing she didn't know. And that was why Professor Bibli asked her to stay after class. She had his word that this appointment wouldn't make her late to her next class.

"Yes, Professor?" Pelame asked, slightly anxious despite having Bibli's word.

"I've only known you for the past five days, Pelame," he began. "And in that time, I've gotten to see that you have a rather extensive knowledge of the world's history. So far, you've never gotten a question wrong during lectures, and you also scored perfectly on yesterday's test. Why, you've even managed to answer the extra credit question correctly, which would mean you're the only one who knows how many male kangaskhans there were before our current king was born. It's not just any Pokémon that can catch up to a member of the species that can learn every last bit of history that has ever happened in the world."

Pelame didn't quite know what to make of that comment.

"To be certain of my suspicions, though, I have some more questions for you. First off, what was the date of the Twilight Kingdom's annexation of Promised Land?"

"1442."

"Date of Pumbloomberg's turn from Monarchy to Constitutional Democracy?"

"1026."

"Origin of Pumbloomberg's name?"

"It came from Pumbloom, the whismur who led the colonization of the land that became Bloomblem, which was renamed Pumbloomberg in honor of his memory when he died."

"Very good so far, but I've been going easy on you. Now see if you can answer these ones right. What was the name and species of the first shiny Pokémon who was born after the Mienshao Dynasty of Shizazoto stopped executing shinies?"

"It was a natu named Fate. Fate then founded the Equal Rights for Shiny Pokémon group in hopes of getting other countries to recognize that shiny Pokémon are not the abominations they were once thought to be, and therefore grant them the same basic rights regular Pokémon have. I actually remember hearing that Professor Adorbs is part of that organization, as well as a few others."

"Indeed she is. Anyway, what was the reason for the start of the recently-finished Swadfrieg War?"

"Their representative Prime Minister Uriki was assassinated by a rogue skuntank named Mustard, who belonged to the Peaceful Pokémon Haven cult, which was headquartered in the Ville du Soleil Couchant. And since that's the Twilight Kingdom's Capital, that was why the Swadfrieg ministry thought we made a preemptive strike and declared war on us. In fact, my father, Lieutenant Pinna, fought in that war. And no offense, professor, but these questions are still a cinch. Are you even trying?"

"My apologies. I didn't know you wanted a _hard_ question. Lucky for you, I have one, and unless you've either committed the entire world history's text to memory or were there when it happened, you will get this one wrong: though the beginning of Windie the Conqueror's downfall is commonly attributed to his victory in Daoyin, in which he famously lost his greatest fighters and strategists that helped all of his prior victories, which battle was the _actual_ start of his decline?"

"Honestly? Is that a trick question? Because it was his victory at Kiheto—which is now Denkidako, by the way—that started off his decline that ended up seeing him dead in Goshi three battles later, all because his heir died in that battle. And it was because he lost his only heir that he entered the Battle of Daoyin with less determination than normal, resulting in that famous victory with disastrous results. But it was because of the death of his heir that he began losing his mind and eventually surrendered by taking his own life. If that had never happened, history would've been rather different." Then Pelame suddenly started chuckling. "Sorry, professor, but is that _really_ the best you've got? I mean, for goodness' sake, where do you think the term 'Kihetic victory' came from?"

"Yes, yes, I get it." The professor's tone then changed to one of impressed acknowledgement. "I have taught at Llyria Academy for close to three decades now, and in all that time, I've never met anyone with as much historical knowledge as you. Why, it's as if you were there for _everything_! How did you ever amass it all?"

"Well, it all started with this gift from my grandmother," Pelame answered, taking out her book. "It's a collection of all the world's events pertaining to the Legendary Pokémon. But the first chapter is—"

"Completely blank, I know. I have a copy, too, and it has the same problem. In fact, all copies of the book are like this, even the original print."

"Exactly. It's driven me crazy for years, so I did background checks in every historical text and document I could get, and I found absolutely nothing. Well, actually, I did end up developing a bigger love of history out of that, but still. My love of history originally started when my dad told me about the war he'd fought in. And then, I applied here hoping I could become a historian so I could solve that mystery myself."

"Well, I'll be," Bibli said wistfully. "To be honest with you, that was my motivation for coming here, too."

"But it seems you're also on square one," Pelame added with a tone of sympathy. "I wonder if this will _ever_ be solved."

"We must keep trying, though." He then went back to the topic of academics. "I think you might have a chance. And since you're so accomplished in historical studies, I'm going to recommend you into the Honors History program."

This announcement greatly excited Pelame. "You will? That would be great!"

"Consider it a treat from me. And that's all I needed you for. I'm sure Professor Snapper is wondering where you are. I've come dangerously close to breaking my word. It's already 1:57 PM. See you on Monday."

"See you then. Enjoy the weekend!"

Pelame then left for Professor Snapper's Combat class. She wasn't excited to be going there, considering that her performance in that class was the polar opposite of her high marks in history class.

* * *

Week one ended on an overall good note for Pelame, Pugno, and Torden. Torden had been spending some time with Pelame and Pugno, hoping to get them as hooked on his video games as he was, though to not as pleasing results as he wanted. And whenever he wasn't playing his games, he was wasting hours online on the newly-released commercial Internet. Today, he came across a strange result in a search.

"You may want to have a look at this, you two," he said. "I was looking up information on how I could store up some static electricity away from my fingertips in this hot weather, and then I found this." He then clicked on the result that got his attention.

"'Team Static?'" Pugno asked.

The page then loaded up. "Wow, how bland," he said about the site's unprofessional look. It looked as generic as an essay on the computer's document program. He then read it aloud.

"'Team Static is a group of Pokémon dedicated to the resistance to evolution.' Well, that's strange. Who _wouldn't_ want to evolve? Anyway, 'Mission Statement: We are Team Static. We are Pokémon who recognize evolution as the curse others refuse to admit it is. We wish to educate the world's population on how good they have it in the first stage of their evolution, and how awful life will be if they ever evolve. Our goal is to eradicate evolution once and for all.'"

"That's crazy!" Pelame cried. "They can't be serious!"

"'If anyone wishes to join or donate to Team Static, please seek me out. My name is Snivy. I am Team Static's spokeswoman, treasurer, and advertiser. I am also the designer of this web page. If you have any questions, please type it in the email box at the bottom of the page. Have a nice day.'" Torden then got a great but mischievous idea. "Oh, I've got a question for you…" He then began typing.

* * *

"'Are you nutcases really serious? You can't seriously think you can get away with denouncing evolution as a curse. No one is going to take you seriously, so disband your little group as soon as you can. From, Torden.'," Snivy read aloud. "I think we upset somebody, sir."

"That's to be expected," said the Team Static leader. "We only started two days ago. We just need some time. They'll all learn soon enough."


	4. Llyria Orientation Camp Week Two

Chapter 4 – Llyria Orientation Camp Week Two

* * *

Classes had started up again, and things were back to how they usually were. Pelame excelled in History and was utterly failing in Combat. Pugno excelled in Combat and was getting the lowest possible grade in Psychology. As for Torden, he found his groove in Technology, though Wildlife and Horticulture was getting the better of him. As far as Pelame's failure went, Blessing wasn't letting her live it down. It seemed as though she invited them to her house (though Torden had to decline) just to poke some fun.

"Sheesh, Pelame, get it together!" Blessing taunted. "For a week straight, you've done nothing in Combat class but get your sorry butt kicked!"

"Stop reminding me," Pelame snapped in an irritated tone. "I just don't understand the point to violence."

"Uh, _hello_?! The world is a dangerous place! Not that _you'd_ know, being as you lived in a nice house in a safe city all your life. Still, suppose you'd lost that house and had to have left Promised Land. And also suppose your parents weren't around, or weren't able to fight. How would you defend yourself against Pokémon that wished to do you harm?"

"I'd just run, of course! Ever hear of 'fight or flight?' I'd choose 'flight' in a heartbeat!"

"Well, I hear you want to be a historian, right?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do—"

"You of all Pokémon ought to know, then, what Pokémon of other countries think of Twilight Kingdom citizens, especially after the Swadfrieg War. Attempts on your life will likely be made, so it'd be good to know how to fight. That sound good to you?"

"I don't think I'd be in that much danger—"

"Okay, you know what? Here's what I'll do: I'll give you a free hit." Blessing then grabbed a sheet of paper, a red marker, and some double-sided tape. She drew a big target on the paper and then stuck a strip of tape on the back of it, and then put it on the ground. Then she sat on the paper, making sure to land on the tape. She then got on all fours, pointing her rear end with the target taped to it at Pelame. "Hit me with your best shot, Pelame!"

"Seriously, Blessing?!" Pugno interjected. "We were just starting to like you a little bit, then you do this?!"

"Oh, so it's okay for _you_ to try to help her, but _I'm_ not allowed to?!" Blessing demanded. She hadn't moved from her spot and wasn't planning to.

"Well, _I_ don't tape targets to my butt and wave it at a friend like you're doing!"

"Well, how do you know that won't work?!" Blessing turned her attention back to Pelame. "What are you _waiting_ for? I'm part Ice-type, for goodness' sake! Your Iron Tail attack will destroy me!"

"…Blessing…" Pelame deadpanned. "I don't know Iron Tail. Now stop that!"

"If you want me to stop it, then attack me. Any attack will do!"

Suddenly, an Aura Sphere hit the bull's-eye of the target Blessing still had taped to her posterior. She was knocked forward a slight bit, and the target was destroyed. The young sneasel's posterior throbbed in slight pain, though it didn't affect her as she stood back up. She still had to slightly rub her behind to alleviate what little pain she was feeling down there.

"You said _any_ attack will do," Pugno smugly chided. "Let that be a lesson to you. Quit trying to provoke Pelame to violence. Or else you'll deal with me." He then rushed up to her and put her in a soft headlock, then he gave her a noogie. As soon as his grip loosened a bit, Blessing took that moment to trip him. The two then began playfully chasing each other through the room, as Pelame joined in on the fun. They exhausted their energy after about fifteen minutes of this.

"Torden is going to be so jealous when he hears of this," Pugno laughed.

"I wonder why he didn't come?" Pelame wondered.

"That's simple," Blessing answered. "His dad forbids him to be anywhere near my mom."

"Your mom? Who—" Then Pelame put two and two together. "So, Professor Adorbs is your mother, then? And how did you know Torden's not allowed near her?"

"Actually, she adopted me when I got out of jail. And I overheard a comment from that argument last week on the night Pugno tackled me. Plus, I suspected as much considering that I never saw him attend any of mom's classes so far."

"I see. And by the way, something about you seemed different since we first met."

"I'd hope so. Sorry for stealing your wallet last Genesis Day, Pelame."

"Oh, it's fine."

"So, tell me something. You _love_ history, correct?"

"…yes. We've been over this…"

"So how can you be so opposed to violence? I'm sure you've noticed, but the world's history has many billions of deaths preserved in its memory. Pokémon killed for any reason at all whether it be orientation, being born shiny, all that kind of stuff; wars; irresponsible leaders—seriously, Pelame, yet you don't like violence to the point where you won't even fight."

"Don't start in again," Pugno warned.

"To tell the truth, there _is_ a reason," Pelame answered. "I've told this to Pugno already, so I can tell you, too. See my left ear?" She turned her head to make her left ear face Blessing, pointing to the little triangular notch cut out of it.

"A part of me wanted to ask about that, to be honest."

"As you know, my father is former Lieutenant Pinna. His guard and soldier training never left him, and he was allowed to keep a few of his weapons at home. When I was four years old, I got curious one day and went into a forbidden area of my house's garage. In there, I found a stash of his weapons. I only wanted a quick look at them at first, but curiosity got the better of me, so I grabbed one of the knives off the wall it was hanging on. And when I went to put it back, I'd forgotten how it originally fit, so it fell right back down and sliced this part of my ear open. It didn't hurt me as much as I thought it would, but it was still painful enough to cause me to scream in pain."

"Ouch…"

"My dad was there in what seemed like an instant. He quickly took me back into the house and into the bathroom and treated it as best he could. Luckily, this didn't require a trip to the hospital."

"That's good. He likely would've grounded you for life in that case."

"Well, he _did_ ground me for a month. I thought he'd scream me up until I went deaf, but he didn't. But he was still definitely angry at me for playing with his weapons without permission."

"A kid your age back then would _never_ be able to get permission to handle a weapon."

"But when he was lecturing me about it, he seemed more afraid than angry. In fact, I remember him telling me that I was lucky the knife didn't land in my back."

"I'll say. That sure sounds like an okay reason to oppose violence, but I'll tell you now: you won't avoid it forever."

"Deep down, I think I know that…"

* * *

Day eight went by with no significant event. Day nine, on the other hand…

"Where's Torden?" Professor Henry asked. "I've never seen him miss my class—"

Suddenly, a vigoroth came in with Torden in hand.

"Hello, Mister Henry," he greeted. "I believe this student belongs here for the time being."

"He does." He then began speaking to Torden directly. "This is your favorite of all the classes, Torden. So what made you decide to try to skip it?"

"I found Snivy!" he answered. "I was just giving her a piece of my mind!"

"By 'give her a piece of his mind,' he means he was threatening to attack her," Vigoroth interjected.

"Well, why shouldn't I? She's part of Team Static! They want to stop evolution! Let me go! I can still get her!"

"Kiddo, that Snivy girl has done nothing wrong. Sure, that sounds like a warped ideal to live by, but she hasn't acted on it. On the other hand, _you_ threatened violence against her."

"That is a very rash action, Torden," Henry added. "I'm afraid I'll have to suspend you from class for today and send you to Professor Prongs. And boy am I _glad_ for your sake that today isn't a test day."

"No! Professor, you don't understand! Snivy's an evil little—"

"Save it for the dean, kid," Vigoroth said, starting to leave. "Come along."

* * *

Professor Prongs was surprisingly not that exasperated to hear the reason Torden was now seeing him in his office. But to say he wasn't remotely angry would be a lie.

"You get it, don't you sir?" Torden begged.

"No, Torden, I do not," Prongs answered. "Yes, it's an odd philosophy to think evolution is a curse. But Snivy has gotten permission from both the lake staff and from the Academy staff to—"

"EXCUSE ME?! You _let that little witch spout her proper_—uh, proposi—prap—"

"Propaganda, you mean?"

"Yeah, that. But still, _WHY DID YOU LET HER?!_"

"In and of itself, making speeches about personal philosophies is not wrong. She hasn't acted violently on those beliefs. You, on the other hand, threatened to attack her. You looked as though you were going to act on that threat before Vigoroth caught you. He knows a Quick Attack when he sees one about to be used. That's why I am going to impose on you a ten-foot restraining order from her for the remainder of the orientation. If you violate it, then you'll be suspended from all classes for two days. And as this is the last week of the orientation, I'd advise you to respect it. It wouldn't be wise to risk your standing at the Academy on a petty grudge."

"With all due respect, sir, you don't get it."

"That's all that will be said on this matter, Torden. Now, return to class."

As Torden left, he turned around to say, "You're going to regret going so easy on that little soapbox preacher!"

* * *

Day ten was a day that wouldn't soon be forgotten. After all classes had ended, there was something happening in the plaza. As Torden feared, Snivy was speaking to a wider public audience. She saved the most important part of the speech for when at least half of the applicants were there. Even Professor Spear had seen fit to attend.

"Everyone, we have a problem," Snivy began. "I want to tell you about a terrible natural plight. How many of you know of the Pokémon species wynaut?"

Everyone raised their hand.

"And does it not evolve into wobbuffet? Tell me, what is the shape and appearance of a wobbuffet's tail?"

"They're black, and they have eyes on them," Pelame answered.

"That's right." Snivy paused for a moment upon noticing that Pelame is an eevee. Regaining her composure, she continued. "Wobbuffet… such a painful life full of fear that one leads. You see, as a wynaut, he's controlled by his own will, even if his tail keeps its appearance upon evolving. The tail is just that; a tail. But as a wobbuffet, that big blue body is nothing but a dead shell protecting the tail, which is where the poor creature's consciousness is headquartered. Life is so much better for that one _before_ evolving. But what breaks my heart is that this is by no means the only case of a Pokémon suffering because of evolution." She pointed to Pelame. "Young lady, could you come up here?"

She wasn't sure why, but she decided to oblige Snivy's request.

"Your name?"

"I'm Pelame."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Snivy." Snivy then raised her voice just high enough to be heard by the crowd. "Tell me, have you decided what Pokémon you want to evolve into? You have seven choices."

"No, I haven't decided."

"Pardon me? I heard you, but no one else did."

"IHAVEN'TDECIDED!" Pelame blurted out nervously.

"That's good. For your species, it's a tough call to make. In fact, why even decide that at all? Why not stay an eevee? In fact, why even call yourself a name other than your species name?"

"Well… m…my father named me Pelame—"

"Don't accept a label other than that your species is called. And also, don't accept that you must evolve. How much better would life really be for you, anyway? And in some cases, it could make it easier for a Pokémon's life to end, such as a paras. Oh, goodness, there's just about no worse case than that poor little one." Snivy sounded sad to say this. "Everyone, do you understand now? How harmful evolution is? I don't want your lives to go downhill because of that dreadful phenomenon. You all have your lives ahead of you. And for those of you who _have_ already evolved, you have my greatest sympathies. You had life so much better before you evolved." Snivy's tone then went back to its normal passion. "But it isn't too late. As you know, I am the representative of Team Static, a group of Pokémon dedicated to resisting evolution. In time, maybe we will discover a way to permanently stop it from happening. But as I am only one of two members—my boss being the only other member—we need help. And so, that's why I've come here. Llyria Academy applicants and Resort guests alike, I beg of your help! If anyone wishes to make a donation or even apply to the Team, come up now!"

Unfortunately for Snivy, only one Pokémon came up. It was a scyther.

"Snivy, I wish to join Team Static," he said. "I'm an exceptionally strong scyther, and it's bad enough that my strength is at this level at this point in my life. If I were to evolve into a scizor…" He couldn't continue.

"Say no more," Snivy replied. "I understand your plight. I will escort you to my boss tonight."

"Okay. See you then."

"Everyone, please think about my words. Take a flyer with you, too. And if anyone wants to leave donations, leave them in the tray near the flyers. Thank you for your time, and good night."

As all the guests and applicants dispersed, Scyther stayed with Snivy.

"Follow me."

* * *

In Team Static's room on the island, Scyther stood in the boss's presence.

"This is Scyther," Snivy said, introducing the applicant. "He wants to join the team, sir."

"I have no home left to go to," Scyther said. "And my physical strength is out of control. It's terrible now, but if I were to evolve into a scizor, I don't even want to know what I'd be able to do. Please, by all means, don't let me evolve! I want to be a scyther for the rest of my life!"

"That is a valid fear," said the boss. "Your strength could be put to good use. I think you'd make a good excavator. There's a mine somewhere between this lake and the Twilight Kingdom's capital, according to the archaeology majors at the Academy, and in there are Everstones."

"Well, I think I could get in there to get at them."

"Excellent. Welcome to Team Static. I promise you will not regret your decision to join and be rid of evolution. I will care for you like you are my child. What would you like to eat?"

"Well, I'm rather fond of Kee Berries."

"Then help yourself to them. I farm them here in these Berry Pots. They're for everyone on the team."

"Thanks, sir."

* * *

At the end of the day, Pelame and Pugno retired to their dorm.

"Pelame, are you okay?" Pugno asked, noticing the disoriented demeanor of his friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered with a faint bit of uncertainty. "It's just… I didn't think Snivy was going to put me on the spot like that. I mean, I'm an average public speaker, but when yanked up onstage and placed in front of a crowd…"

She couldn't finish.

"If it were me, I don't think I'd fare much better," Pugno reassured.

"I see…"

As the two settled into their beds and shut the light off, a question popped into Pelame's head that she couldn't put off asking.

"Hey Pugno? I want you to be honest with me."

"Yeah? Is something on your mind?"

"Yeah. You see, remember when Snivy asked me if I had decided what I want to evolve into, and I blurted out that I hadn't?"

"How could I forget? Your nerves conquered you at that moment. It was kinda painful for me to watch that. Is that what's bothering you?"

"Well, kinda. It's more about the topic she brought up when she put me in front of the crowd. About what I'd evolve into."

She then finally popped the question.

"Pugno, what do you think would happen to me if I were to evolve at all?"

"Hmm… Well, I don't really know for sure. I think you'd just evolve."

"But would anything else about me change?"

"Most likely not. I've never known Pokémons' personalities to change upon evolving. I mean, if you were to become a vaporeon, I don't think you'd suddenly become your dad. I think you'll always be you. You'll always be Pelame. Not Pinna, not Neve, and not even Albero."

At that, Pelame couldn't help but feel her heart being warmed.

"You know, although you only have one type of Pokémon to evolve into, I don't think you'll change, either. Riolu or lucario, I think you'll stay the same noble Pugno I met back on that Genesis Day."

At that, Pugno couldn't help but feel his heart being warmed.

"Good night, Pelame."

"Good night, Pugno."

* * *

It had been a long two weeks, but time went by quickly with the fun everyone had. It was always certain that they'd all get into the academy. But now that the final test was over, everyone's futures there were secure. It was then time for the island to be cleared out, and for the applicants to return home until the semester started in Ninthmonth.

Pelame had earned the favor of Professor Bibli, and it seemed certain that she'd gained a spot in his class. The test results would decide that for certain. For now, at least, he had left her his office phone number. It seemed that even he couldn't wait until the semester started to see her again. And for that matter, waiting would do no favors for Pelame. It stressed her out that she had to rest up upon getting home, therefore adding time to when she could make that phone call. Her reluctant patience paid off, though, and she picked up the phone.

"Hello?" answered Professor Bibli.

"Hello. This is Pelame," she answered back.

"Yes, indeed. It seems you also couldn't wait until the semester started before we got another chance to speak to one another."

"I know, right? That orientation was so much fun! I've never gotten to meet an equal to me in terms of historical knowledge!"

"Oh, I agree! In fact, I had gotten back to investigating that missing chapter since you had left, having been inspired by you to pick that back up. It's very good you called, because I found something you might find interesting."

"You did? What would that be?"

"Unfortunately, it's just one term. But in this field, it's an open door to many more mysteries. The term in question was 'Alpha Bloodline.'"


	5. Static Surgeon

Chapter 5 – Static Surgeon

* * *

_"__Dear Mom and Dad_," Pinna read aloud. _"Well, for a final year here at Llyria, it's been a bit slow. I know it's only halfway over, but still. The previous two-and-a-half years are tough acts to follow. Professor Bibli and I haven't gotten too much farther in figuring out what that 'Alpha Bloodline' is, but little progress is better than no progress at all. All we know so far is that it's hereditary, originated from the Immortal Realm, and is unlocked under only a special circumstance. As for that circumstance, we're still unclear on that.  
Professor Spear recently became the head of the Botany Department in addition to Wildlife and Horticulture. Tomorrow afternoon, I'm going with him on a pollination run. He gives extra credit to students who accompany him and turn in a travelogue of the events, so I decided I'd take that chance even though I'm passing the class with a B.  
Unfortunately, I'm still going nowhere in Combat class. Thank goodness it's not mandatory to graduate, but I'd still like to do better than a D. I'm trying everything I can to do better, but I'm kinda at my wit's end.  
But I've got some more good news. Last week, I got a job as a History tutor. I'm paid 14 Pokéns per hour for it. Plus, all the students who have me as their tutor recommended me to all their friends. They're actually thinking of doubling my salary for that.  
Anyway, things overall have been going great. I hope to see you during the graduation ceremony.  
Love, Pelame"_

"Well, isn't that marvelous?"

"It sure is, honey," Neve responded. "Just five more months until her graduation. I can't wait!"

"Me neither. I'm so excited!"

* * *

Pugno was in no mood to give up on Pelame. As much help as she'd given him with history, he tried as best he could to return the favor for combat. The Llyria Academy Campus had many great places for combat practice. But no matter where it took place, the result always was the same: Pugno wiped the floor with Pelame. He tried not to hurt her seriously, though accidents have happened. Nothing more serious than bruising had happened, though.

"Want to take a break?" Pugno asked, concerned for his friend.

"No, I don't!" Pelame snapped, getting frustrated with her poor performance. "Did Windie the Conqueror take any breaks during battle?"

"No, but—"

"'But' nothing! Come at me!" Pelame ordered.

Reluctantly, Pugno did so. He began with a Low Sweep that Pelame couldn't dodge in time. The attack tripped her, sending her landing on her chin.

"Whoa, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It just stings a little." Pelame rubbed her chin, finding there was a small scrape on it.

"You're bleeding, Pelame. Just a little bit, but still. We're stopping for today."

"No, Pugno! I can still—"

"Pelame, that's final! We're starting again tomorrow!"

Pelame decided it was best to just take that as an answer.

"Pelame, I know you're frustrated. I really do. But I just don't want you to get hurt, or to stress out so much about this. Sorry for snapping at you."

"It's fine, Pugno. I just can't understand why I can't fight. I really do want to know how to defend myself, since anything could happen."

"Yeah. I've actually been thinking this problem over myself. I know it isn't because you know you're in no real danger."

"You're right about that. I couldn't even bring myself to chase Blessing when she stole my wallet last Genesis Day. But then, that was the last time I was in something that could be called danger."

"I think you'd actually have to be in danger for you to try to fight back. Though I will _never_ try an exercise like that on you." He put his hand on his discouraged friend's shoulder. "Don't give up. We'll find you a way through this somehow. But for now, how about some dinner?"

"Yeah. That would be great, Pugno."

As usual, the choice for night dining was the local Char Brothers' Berry Grillhouse, located a few blocks from the Academy. On their way in, they passed by a shiny wynaut who angrily stormed out.

"You're not going in there, are you?" he asked.

"Of course we are," Pelame answered honestly.

"Humph. Well then, have fun dining with these Shiny-shunning bigots."

Pelame and Pugno shrugged in confusion. Not sure what to think of the situation, they put it out of their minds and entered the restaurant.

"Good evening," the monferno behind the counter greeted. "Welcome to Char Brothers' Berry Grillhouse. Would you like to try our Enigma Berry Quarter-pounder?"

"Not tonight, thanks," Pugno answered. "Just the usual Oran and Sitrus half-pounder. One for each of us."

"Can you garnish one of them with Chople Berry Powder, please?" Pelame asked.

"That'll be yours, right?" Monferno asked.

"Yes."

"They told me you're regulars when they hired me."

"I see. We're _that_ well-known here, huh?"

"I guess so. Anyway, your order will be coming right up. Five Pokéns." Pugno paid the amount. Monferno then left to go cook it up with the other chefs. Pelame and Pugno took their seats near the window. Pelame instinctively ducked when she saw a rock fly in her direction, although it didn't get through the window. She saw the shiny wynaut from earlier throw another one higher up onto the building. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but she assumed it wasn't nice.

"Sheesh, is it _that_ big a deal?" Pelame heard a magby behind her ask. "Didn't he see the sign that said blinders aren't allowed in here?"

"Maybe not," answered the piplup he was eating with. "Still, this place ought to change that policy. The rest of the Twilight Kingdom's society welcomes Shiny Pokémon, after all. And by the way, please don't use that word. Someone could hear you."

"Well, not to defend exclusion," Pelame said, entering the conversation. "But this is a small family-owned business. Like I said, I don't support their shabby treatment of Shinies. But I also support this restaurant. They're very nice Pokémon, all things considered."

"Who asked you?" Piplup rudely retorted.

"Yeah, don't go butting into conversations you're not part of!" Magby added. Pelame instantly backed down. Pugno was about to snap back, but Pelame stopped him.

"Jerks," was all Pugno allowed himself to say. Looking back out the window, he and Pelame saw the wynaut talking to a familiar figure.

"Wait, is that…?"

"Snivy?"

Pelame and Pugno got up and left for the door.

"We'reeatingoutside," Pelame quickly told Monferno on the way out.

"Oh, hello," Snivy said, taking notice of Pelame and Pugno. "We haven't spoken in a while. I've seen you two these past two years. Team Static still has room for you two."

"It'd be great for you two," Wynaut added. "I joined them yesterday, and it's been just perfect. So, how about it?"

"Sorry, but our answer is still no," Pelame answered. "But here's a small donation for you." She gave twenty Pokéns to Snivy.

"Thank you very much, Pelame," Snivy responded to the kind gesture. "There will always be a spot open on the team for you. By the way, do you know any other good restaurants around here? Wynaut told me that Shinies aren't served here at Char Brothers'. They even use that terrible slur."

"Well, further down the block, there's a Café Flabébé," Pelame answered, pointing them in the proper direction.

"But isn't that a ritzy place that normally only snooty Pokémon go to?" Wynaut asked.

"Yeah, but they serve Shinies there," Pugno replied.

"How about this? We all go there together," Pelame offered up. "Want to?"

"But Pelame, we have an order waiting for us here," Pugno reminded.

"We can eat at both places," Pelame answered.

"No way. I'm not eating with Team Static members. You go if you want to."

"Okay, then. You can save my sandwich for me when I get back home."

"All right then. And Pelame…" he brought Pelame within whispering range. "Don't let Snivy sweet-talk you into joining Team Static."

"Don't worry. I won't," she whispered back. "See you later," she said at normal volume. She then left with the two Team Static members.

* * *

The three Pokémon were shown to their seats by the prinplup waiter. They made their orders and then started up a conversation once their waiter went to deliver the order to the kitchen.

"So, why wouldn't your friend Pugno come with us?" Wynaut asked.

"He feels a bit more severely about your group than I do," Pelame answered. "Although he at least doesn't act as passionately about it as my other friend Torden."

"Who?"

"Torden's the chubby pikachu I go to computer class with."

"Oh, yes. I remember him," Snivy reminisced. "Most Pokémon at least have the decency to walk by me and ignore me. To this day, he's the only one who threatened to hurt me. Not that I took it seriously, mind you."

"Does that guy have something against Team Static?" Wynaut asked.

"Well, kinda," Pelame answered.

"Come to think of it, being a pikachu, he's already evolved. Could that have something to do with it?"

"Probably. I'd be lying if I said I was perfectly fine with Team Static's ideals, but as long as no one's getting hurt by the team, that'll be fine with me. It's best to leave it to individual Pokémon to decide whether or not they want to evolve."

"I agree," Snivy responded. "In fact, our boss discourages violence of any kind. Although sometimes he says stuff that implies he's having second thoughts on that."

"Who is your boss, anyway?"

"Sorry, but I'm not allowed to disclose that. He wishes not to be known yet."

"Okay then."

Prinplup arrived with everyone's food. While the three dined, Wynaut remembered something.

"Say, Pelame? We know you don't want to join the Team, and we won't make you," he began. "However, we could use your help with something."

"You can?"

"See, about two years ago, we started searching for a place we'd heard had Everstones in it. Well, just two weeks ago, we finally found it. We've come into possession of lots of Everstones, and are finding more. But with what we have, it's enough for an idea I had. I pitched it to the boss and he approved it, but I've found no one willing to participate."

"And you want me to?"

"Do you want to?"

_"__Don't let Snivy sweet-talk you into joining Team Static,"_ Pelame remembered Pugno saying.

_"__Well, it's Wynaut asking me this question," _Pelame debated with herself. _"Still, this seems a bit fishy._"

"I wish this idea of yours good luck, but I'm afraid I must say no to your offer," Pelame kindly answered.

"Thanks for the well-wish," Wynaut responded. "Still, I think this idea would've really helped you."

The three were then done with their meal. Snivy paid the bill.

"I still think you'd be right at home with us, Pelame," Snivy started in again. "Our boss would treat you like his own daughter."

"Oh, yes, he's very kind," Wynaut added. "He even let us have this day off and even gave us the money Snivy just paid a share of for the bill."

"Well, I hope you two continue to have a good time in Team Static," Pelame called back as she left toward Llyria campus. "Stay out of trouble!"

Wynaut and Snivy waved goodbye to the young eevee.

"Let's go home now, Wynaut," Snivy said. At that, the two teammates headed back to their HQ.

* * *

"We're back, sir," Snivy said as she and Wynaut entered the secret area.

"Welcome home," greeted the boss. "How was it?"

"After I got kicked out of Char Brothers' for being a Shiny, it all went uphill from there," Wynaut answered. "We even treated that young eevee girl Pelame to dinner at Café Flabébé, where we ultimately settled."

"That's very nice. I'm sorry to hear you were refused service from your first dining choice."

"Actually, sir, _I_ should apologize. That is, for my failure to find a Pokémon willing to be the test for the Everstone experiment."

"Why didn't you ask Pelame?"

"I did, sir. She refused, though."

"I see. Well, I'm not pleased to hear that she won't help, but I am not angry at you for it, Wynaut. You'll find someone soon enough; just keep looking." The boss's back suddenly cramped, prompting him to rub it in pain. Wynaut got to work relieving the pain.

"I will, sir. In fact, I have someone else in mind…"

* * *

The next day was the usual fare for Pelame. Although she enjoyed all her classes except for Combat class, she was eager for each of them to end. Tonight was the night Professor Spear offered to let students accompany him on an afternoon pollination trip. No one seemed interested except for Pelame. All of her friends were busy with projects of their own, so she'd be going with him alone. That is until…

"Where are you off to, Pelame?" Blessing asked.

"She's going with Professor Spear on a pollination trip," Pugno answered. "Not that it's of any concern to you. Besides, weren't you working on an Architecture project with Torden and Simpson?"

"Well, I _would_ be if that stupid slacker would get his lazy fat butt in gear! I mean, Simpson is one hard-working wartortle, but… well, you know how Torden is. So, I guess I have nothing to do. What are your plans, Pugno?"

"Tonight's the due date of an extra credit project I'm doing for Professor Aramir. I'm performing for him a set of moves and forms I devised on my own."

"Okay, so I can't tag along with you. So I guess…" She then looked at Pelame, who had just finished packing her note-taking supplies and some food. "Pelame, looks like we're going together."

"What?!" Pelame and Pugno exclaimed in unison.

"Why not? I don't have anything else to do! Mom's out having a talk with the manager of Char Brothers' about their 'no Shinies' policy, so I'm officially out of ideas. That settles it. Pelame, you have a tagalong."

"Well…"

"Don't worry. I won't be any trouble."

Pelame said nothing to that. She looked Blessing in the eye and stuck out her paw.

"You'd better mean that, Blessing," Pelame said assertively. "Don't shake if you don't."

Blessing thought it over, and then shook Pelame's paw, taking care to cross her claws in her free hand and hide it from view of both Pelame and Pugno. "Deal."

"Have fun, Pelame," Pugno wished. "And Blessing, stay out of trouble."

"Good luck, Pugno," Pelame returned. With that, the three set out on their paths.

* * *

At the edge of the Llyria Forest, Pelame and Blessing met up with the beedrill professor.

"Good afternoon, Pelame," Spear greeted. "I see you brought a guest with you."

"Actually, she invited herself," Pelame responded in a tone of resignation.

"Well, in any case, it's good to have more company. You're the sneasel Adorbs adopted, right?"

"Yep, I am. And she named me Blessing," Blessing introduced.

"Very nice to meet you. Will you be accompanying us?"

"Of course."

"Okay then. Now before we go, I need to brief you on some details. First off, I am not the only beedrill who collects nectar from the flowers of this forest. In fact, I visit a wild swarm here from time to time and take up the position of captain when I do. Out of all of them, I know which flowers have the highest nectar yield. Therefore, leave all communication with them to me. Also, _do not_ get them upset at you. These are wild Pokémon; they function differently from civilized Pokémon, meaning that they will have no problem attacking you. As for the assignment proper, you will be taking note of everything you see. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, although I'm not even in your class, Mr. Spear," Blessing answered. "Do I have to take notes?"

"No, you don't."

"I'm ready, sir," Pelame answered.

"Then let's get going."

And so, the three entered the forest.

* * *

"Ah, perfect. Here's a Blue Wisteria. I'll take a few samples from this one while we wait for the rest of the swarm to arrive. Take notice."

As Spear collected samples, Pelame started taking notes of her observation. As scheduled, the swarm arrived and started taking turns collecting from the Blue Wisteria after Spear was done. Spear then took his spot as captain and started communicating with them.

"…Is he…?" Blessing asked, not believing what she was seeing.

"Yes, Blessing, he's communicating with them," Pelame answered in a deadpan tone.

"Wait, beedrills speak with their—"

"Abdomen signals and body movement that could pass for dancing."

"Well, why didn't you say so?"

Following the swarm, Pelame and Blessing went deeper into the forest. And it was then that Blessing went forward to try something out.

"Blessing, what are you doing?" Pelame asked skeptically.

"Watch and learn!" Blessing answered. She shouted at the swarm to get their attention. Once she did, she turned around. "Now then, I order you all to—" Blessing then started waggling her rear end at the swarm, hoping to send a message. The swarm didn't know what to make of this.

_"__Tell me this isn't happening,"_ Pelame thought to herself. _"This is humiliating!"_

Seeing no result, Blessing decided to try a new approach. She got down on all fours and raised her behind as high as she could make it go. She then continued waggling it. Two waggles to the right, one left, five down, and one more left was her message.

_"__Someone please wake me from this nightmare,"_ Pelame thought, thoroughly mortified. To check if she was dreaming, she stomped on her own tail. _"Please sting her."_

Professor Spear got the swarm's attention again, instructing them to leave Blessing and Pelame be and get back to work. Once they went back to collecting nectar, Spear gave a disapproving look at Blessing. "Don't even think of pointing your hindquarters at me," he scolded.

"Why would I?" she asked as she stood back up. "Those idiots didn't get my message, so I don't think _you_ would, either."

"For your information, you weren't even saying anything comprehensible to them. If you ask me, you got off easy. For all you know, you could've been telling them to poison you with their Twinneedles."

"Well, why didn't you tell me that butt-speak was a difficult language?!"

"Because I thought you'd have the common sense not to try something so stupid and immature!"

"Spear. You were talking to them. _WITH YOUR BUTT!_ How could I _not_ try it myself?!"

"This is something only beedrills can do, and vespiquens as well. _You_ cannot! And another thing: the proper term is 'abdomen,' but that's the least of the problem. You're going to be reported to the Dean for this once Pelame and I are done here. Also, I'm not letting you go any farther than here, so you march yourself home now."

"Just for having some fun?!"

"Would you rather I told Adorbs?"

"She'll find out anyway! But fine, I get the message!" She then turned to leave, taking notice of Pelame giving her a livid glare as she left. She stopped once she had noticed that. "And what's _your_ problem?"

"I think you know well what my problem is," Pelame seethed. "You looked me in the eye as you shook my paw on the promise that you wouldn't cause any trouble tonight."

"Oh, you mean the promise that I crossed my claws while making?"

"…what?"

"Yeah, that's right. I didn't promise you squat!"

Pelame advanced on Blessing in a manner that would have looked intimidating were she not around the same size as her target.

"I would _love_ to Iron Tail you where you stand right now," she threatened. "You're lucky I don't like violence, or I would totally break your neck this instant."

"Ooh, the pacifist is threatening me," Blessing mocked. "What'll she do? Will she history lecture me to death?!"

It took all her restraint not to attack the smug sneasel at that moment. "…Get out of my sight before I get that beedrill swarm back here to lodge you on their Twinneedles," was all she could say.

"Don't worry, Pelame. I was leaving, anyway." And with that, Blessing went on her way again.

Pelame then caught back up with Professor Spear. It was a great relief for her to be back in the company of a Pokémon she greatly respected.

"I've known that rascal for close to three years now, and she's _never_ gotten me this upset," Pelame vented. "Seriously, I feel like hurting her right now—in fact, I seriously wish those beedrill _had_ stung her! It would've been the prod to the butt she deserved!"

"Well, although that would've been hilarious to see, let's not wish so much pain on her," Spear reassured. "The Dean will see to her for this, though. She won't be expelled for this, but this might get her a week's suspension; not to mention how livid Adorbs will be with her when she hears of this, too."

"*humph*, even expulsion would be too generous a punishment for that creep."

"Why don't we forget about that for now? There's still a job for me to do right here. Wait here for me." He joined up with the rest of the swarm and instructed them to return to their hives with their goods. The job was all done. "Looks like we finished early, and just in time for dinner."

"Great! I'm starving, Professor!"

To their unpleasant surprise, they found Blessing hiding behind a tree. She appeared to be staking someone out.

"I thought I told you—"

"Quiet," Blessing whispered. "I just saw Team Static heading toward that cave over there. They're up to something."

"What? How can you tell?" Pelame asked, lowering her voice.

"A two-time jailbird Pokémon is talking to you right now, Pelame. I know a suspicious group when I see one. A bellsprout was following them, too. And now, so am I."

"Wait—"

Before Pelame could stop her, Blessing was off.

"Is she crazy?" Spear asked rhetorically.

"Yeah," Pelame answered, despite not needing to.

"Well, despite everything, I can't just let her get herself hurt on my watch."

"Who cares? Let her get beat up! Besides, she's not even 'on your watch' anymore!"

"Pelame, there's no need to be so cold. I'm going." Spear then flew in the direction Blessing ran off toward. Against her better judgement, Pelame decided to follow along.

_"__I'm out of my mind,"_ she thought to herself as she followed.

* * *

Inside the nearby cave, Scyther, Wynaut, and a bellsprout had entered a chamber not too deep inside. Wynaut was carrying a small case with him.

"Okay, Bellsprout, are you ready?" Wynaut asked.

"Well, kinda. Mind if you told me more about this Everstone experiment?" Bellsprout asked.

"No. Allow me," rang Blessing's voice from the chamber's entrance. She entered, holding a piece of paper. "Wynaut, you should've kept a tighter grip on this thing. Bellsprout, they—"

"Blessing, there you are!"

Spear and Pelame entered the chamber.

"I told you twice now to go back home!"

"Yeah, in a sec." Blessing turned back to face the two Static admins. "Well, just because Wynaut let this contract slip out of his grip, I know what you two thugs are up to!"

"Huh, I was wondering where that went," Wynaut said, unfazed. "Can I have it back now?"

"Well, that depends. Ask Bellsprout if he really wants an Everstone surgically implanted into his body. If he says—"

"Wait, is _that_ what the experiment is?" Bellsprout asked, startled by the terms of the agreement. "I don't want that!"

"Well, that's too bad," Wynaut responded. "It would have really helped you."

"_HOW?!"_ Pelame suddenly blurted out in anger. "I mean, putting an Everstone in a Pokémon's body with surgery?! I've never heard of anything so demented!"

"Demented?!" Scyther demanded. "This is revolutionary! See, with an Everstone within the body, a Pokémon will finally be spared from evolving."

"At first, we tried using an Everstone the way normal evolutionary stones are used," Wynaut explained. "That is, grinding it into powder to be sprinkled into a drink or onto food which is then ingested. But Everstones don't work the same way. Well, it does, but not permanently. Done that way, it would have to be taken in dosages just like with prescription drugs. The body would then eliminate it after a while. Evolutionary stones take effect on a compatible Pokémon in a matter of hours, once the body has digested it. Everstones don't work that way, unfortunately. Metabolisms treat them differently. And that's why we at Team Static had been trying to come up with a way to make the effects permanent. And just two days ago, I finally made a breakthrough." Wynaut then turned to the left and gestured to the side of his head hidden by his arm. He lifted his arm up and pointed at a small surgery scar located a few centimeters below the armpit. "See this? There's an Everstone implanted here."

"And in here, too," Scyther added, pointing to his waistline. "Thanks to Wynaut, neither one of us can evolve now. And neither can Snivy nor even our boss. We are all finally free to remain as we are."

"I didn't want to cause any unnecessary harm to any outsiders, which was why the boss volunteered himself to be the first test subject for this procedure. But I needed to be absolutely certain it worked, so I had given Scyther a drink laced with a Metal Coat—"

"With my permission, of course."

"Yes, that's right. Even though a Metal Coat is not an evolutionary stone, it works on the same principle. So, after some time had passed, he hadn't evolved, even though he should've. That was when I deemed this procedure a success. Now the boss has dispatched us to find other Pokémon willing to undergo it and perform it on them, so they'd be saved from evolving. And by the way, we were just about to inform Bellsprout about this, but then you all interrupted us."

"Well, why shouldn't we have?!" Pelame retorted as bravely as she could. "That has got to be the most barbaric thing I've ever heard! Why would you do such a terrible thing to yourselves?!"

"Terrible? Why would you call this kind of salvation 'terrible?' Look at yourself, Pelame. As an eevee, you have many choices of Pokémon you can evolve into, but why bother? As a… well, I'm probably wrong, but judging by your physical appearance, you're thirteen years old, right?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with this?!"

"Well, for thirteen years of life, have you ever once thought of what you'd like to evolve into?"

"Well, sometimes, but—"

"And have you made a final decision?"

"…no, I haven't."

"And why should you? Just stay an eevee. My Everstone procedure can help you with that."

"NEVER!" Pelame suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs. Part of that shout came from fear.

"Yeah! It's Pelame's choice and right to evolve!" Blessing said, sticking up for the frightened and angry eevee. "And a quack like yourself doesn't get to just come and take that away!"

"I wasn't seeking to take it away by force," Wynaut answered, still unfazed. "I offered the chance to her, and she said 'no' to it. I will no longer offer it again to her today. And just so you know, I am an official M.D."

"I don't care if Llyria itself gave you that license, you're not practicing your poison medicine here!"

Without warning, Blessing came swinging at Wynaut. Instinctively, Scyther came forward to fend her off. He then saw Professor Spear pick up the case Wynaut was carrying. As he started to leave the chamber, Scyther jumped into the air and flew after him. Blessing took that time to escort the young Bellsprout out of the cave.

"Those belong to Team Static!" he shouted as he launched an Air Slash attack at the Beedrill professor. The case fell down toward Pelame, who picked it up.

"Run, Pelame!" Spear ordered. "Take that case and whatever is in it away from here!"

"Stop right there!" Scyther commanded after landing a Steel Wing attack on Spear and sending him to the ground. He then held one of his sword arms to the professor's head. "Bring Wynaut's Everstones and surgical equipment back or else this evolved abomination loses his head!"

"Scyther, what are you doing?!" Wynaut asked in shock. "Team Static doesn't threaten violence!"

"I'm not letting your equipment get stolen from you, pal!" Scyther turned back to Pelame. "Well, are you going to do it, or are you going to let your teacher get killed?"

"You wouldn't—"

"You're going to tempt me?"

"Scyther, stop it!" Wynaut ordered.

"No! If I follow that order, you'll lose all your stuff!"

Pelame was terrified. She had never been in a situation like this before, so she had no idea how to escape it.

"Scyther, please don't hurt him!" she begged. "And don't hurt me, either!"

"Then give me that case."

"If I do, will you let me and Professor Spear go?"

"Yes, I will. Now do it!"

And so, she did as instructed. As soon as Scyther regained the case, he released Spear as he had promised.

"Thanks, Pelame," he responded, suddenly sounding grateful and friendly. "But please don't ever put us through this kind of situation ever again. Otherwise, I can't be held responsible for what I might do." Suddenly, his friendly act dropped. "Actually, you know what, no! No one does that to my bestie!" He smacked Pelame and Spear with his Steel Wing attack. "Wynaut is my best friend, and you almost made off with his most precious items. I'm not letting that slide, even if I end up losing my job at Team Static!" He raised his sword arm into the air.

"Wait, Scyther, you said you'd let us go!" Pelame begged, beginning to form tears out of fear for her life.

"Deal's off!"

Suddenly, Blessing returned and hit Scyther with an Ice Punch.

"Even _I_ think it's low to renege on a promise you genuinely made!" she shouted. "At least _I_ crossed my claws when _I_ made a false promise, you lying piece of trash!"

Scyther rose back to his feet, ready to fight.

"Scyther, we're leaving," Wynaut ordered.

"But I—"

"NOW, SCYTHER!"

Scyther growled in response, but decided to oblige. "Fine, then," he seethed. "This is not over."

As the two Team Static members left, Wynaut turned back to say, "My many apologies for all that just happened. Though he acted to rescue a prized set of my possessions, I'll see to it he gets properly punished for these violent acts of his."

No one responded to that.

"Well, Blessing, though you disobeyed me once again, I thank you for rescuing us," Spear said. "You will still be reported for your disobediences, though, but I'll also mention your coming to save us."

"Fair enough," Blessing responded. "Are you all okay?"

"Yes, we're fine."

Pelame was too traumatized to respond.

"Come on, we should all get home now."

* * *

Back in Team Static's secret hideout, the boss had just received the report of Scyther's misbehavior.

"Scyther, I am extremely disappointed in you," he said. "You have known for close to three years that Team Static doesn't operate with violence except in self-defense. It is noble of you to look out for the interest of a friend and coworker, but that does not justify you threatening to murder a professor of the Academy. Although these days the world is lending less of an ear to peaceful speaking, you still mustn't act so extremely."

"I understand, sir," Scyther replied in great shame. "I don't know what came over me."

"I will not terminate your employment with the Team, Scyther. However, I will be placing you on a month-long probation, during which your salary will be reduced by half. And Wynaut will be accompanying you on future tasks."

"Yes, sir. That is fair."


	6. Pelame's Potential

Chapter 6 – Pelame's Potential

* * *

"Well, Pugno, that certainly looks like an impressive form and set of moves," Professor Aramir critiqued after Pugno had presented his project to him. "However, I can't give you the full extra credit points this was worth. You're too tense. Fighting by putting that much strength in each attack is going to tire you out quickly. You need to loosen up."

"Sorry, sir," Pugno responded.

"I've already decided the results, but would you like to try again anyway?"

"Sure. I _do_ need to relax, after all."

Pugno then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He faced the Substitute doll Aramir generated for this event and assumed the Crane Stance as his routine started with, and started generating a small Aura Sphere with his left hand. He kicked with his bent right leg, put it back on the ground, and did a Low Sweep attack with his left foot. He finished by releasing the Aura Sphere from his left hand and delivering a Power-Up Punch with his fisted right hand.

"A bit better, but you could still stand to relax a bit more. Here, have a seat." As his student took a seat in front of him on the gym floor, Aramir did so as well and faced his student. "Is there something on your mind? Anything at all?"

"Well, the only thing I can think of is something Torden said about the upcoming parent-teacher conference week. I don't know what it is, but it just irritates me how he talks about his father like he's garbage. I mean, I know he might have his reasons, but… still…"

"I take it you don't like hearing family members disrespected, then."

"I guess so."

"Well, I may not know as much about these matters as Professor Adorbs does, but why not try talking to him about it? I'm sure it'll make him happy to see someone will listen to him."

"I guess so."

The teacher then stood up, prompting Pugno to do the same.

"You know what we need now? Food. Want to go get a bite, Pugno?"

"Sure!"

The two left the gym and went toward the food district in the nearby town. They hadn't gotten off the Academy campus by the time Professor Spear came back with Blessing and Pelame in tow. Pugno saw that Pelame looked terrified and immediately approached her.

"Pelame, are you okay?!" he asked, concerned and scared for his friend. He then turned to Blessing, giving her a very belligerent glare. "Did you do something?!"

"What?! No!" Blessing answered defensively. "In fact, I _saved_ her! If it weren't for me, Pelame would have been sliced to bits!"

"It's true," said Professor Spear. "Blessing saved us both. After she humiliated all of us in front of the Beedrill swarm I commanded, though. But her punishment for that will hopefully be reduced for her heroic act."

"Yep, that's right," Blessing gloated. "By the way, what's to be done about Pelame? The poor girl hasn't said a word since we got here."

Throughout all of this, Pelame still hadn't said anything. The only communication she managed was a small smile once her eyes met Pugno's.

"Don't worry, Pelame," he reassured. "It'll be all right." He faced Aramir. "Sorry, sir, but I'm gonna have to cancel our dinner plan."

"That's fine with me," Aramir responded. "Some other time, then. For now, I think Pelame needs you. You should take her home."

Pugno nodded in agreement.

* * *

In all the time Pugno had known Pelame, he'd never seen her like this. On the day he first met her, she looked sad when her wallet had been stolen from her. But even that paled in comparison to this. She looked as though she was catatonic in fear. Pugno wanted more than anything to see her happy again. That small smile earlier was a start, though. She had the strength to walk back home with him, but nothing was said between them on the way, as Pugno didn't want to risk saying something wrong.

Once they got home, he led her inside and got dinner ready. He had learned how to make most all of her favorite foods, opting to go with Chople Berry Soup with a slice of Apicot Poffin. He served it to her (as well as a portion he made for himself) and switched on the TV in time for a rerun of _Twilight Kingdom's Funniest Family Tapes_.

"Actually, we ought not to eat while watching a laugh-out-loud hilarious show like this," Pugno joked, trying to initiate conversation. "We could spit out soup out in laughter. Or maybe we'll laugh so hard it'll come out our noses."

Pelame didn't respond as she continued to eat. Pugno decided not to say any more immature comments. He then decided to pop the question.

"I know you went out with Professor Spear on a nectar run. Did something happen out there?"

Pelame's eyes scrunched shut in discomfort. Pugno could see tears forming through her eyelids.

"I almost died!" Pelame suddenly cried out, squeezing Pugno in a tight hug. "Scyther almost cut my head off!"

"Scyther?! You mean the Team Static member?"

"Yes! He went crazy and tried to kill me and Professor Spear! If it weren't for Blessing, we'd be… we'd be…"

Pelame couldn't say any more. Her tears were just too strong for her to speak through. Seeing this and hearing about why the waterworks were going was making Pugno want to cry along with her. It certainly wasn't helped by the fact that he wasn't there when the incident happened, as he had just now remembered.

"Pelame, if I were there, I swear I never would've let this happen," he said apologetically. "I should've forsook that stupid assignment. Professor Aramir would've understood. I'm so sorry. But from now on, I'll do everything I can to protect you from those Team Static thugs."

At that moment, an announcement was broadcast over all campus television sets, radios, and even the computers. The program Pelame and Pugno were watching got interrupted to make room for it. On the screen was Professor Kudzu, sitting behind his desk in the Administrative Office Building. He addressed the entire campus.

"Students and staff of Llyria Academy. I have received word of an incident that happened earlier this afternoon in the forest involving the group known as Team Static. One of its members attacked two students and one of our very own Department Heads. Their identities are being withheld for their protection. Furthermore, I have been told that Team Static has undergone Everstone-implanting surgery to prevent themselves from evolving, and that they seek to do that to other Pokémon. Therefore, I must warn all of you to stay away from Team Static in case they try to convince you to submit to their ludicrous procedure. Pictured here are three confirmed members of the team."

The screen then showed a picture of Team Static's very own Scyther, Wynaut, and Snivy.

"Scyther, Wynaut, and Snivy, all three of whom go by their species name as part of their resistance to change of any kind. These three can be identified by a surgical scar located on a various part of their bodies. It has been confirmed that Scyther has his on his waistline, right where the thorax meets the abdomen, and Wynaut has his on his right temple. It is yet to be determined where Snivy's scar is, however. It is also yet to be determined exactly who they take orders from, as their boss has never been seen in public as of now. I strongly urge all students and faculty to exercise caution around these three individuals. That concludes this important announcement. I bid you all a good night."

All broadcasts returned to normal at that moment.

"Wait, did he just say Team Static implants Everstones into Pokémon?" Pugno asked incredulously. "And they did that to themselves already?! They're crazy!"

Pelame's tears were starting to come to a stop.

"Pelame, I can't apologize enough for—"

"It's fine, Pugno. I wouldn't have wanted you to be in that situation. But thanks for the apology."

The two then exchanged a friendly hug, which, to their surprise, turned into a kiss.

* * *

The next day, Pelame seemed to be feeling fine. She decided not to take up Professor Sparkler's offer to excuse her from class. She assured the Luxray professor that she was fine. She tried to hide her tension, which became hard to do once it was announced that today was the day the Evasion exercises started. She was partnered with a Meowth named Coin for this activity, in which all she had to do was dodge his attacks.

"Don't worry, I'll take it easy on you," Coin said. "Look sharp!"

He unleashed his claws and started swiping at Pelame. She dodged every one of his attacks. The exercise was going very well for her.

"Great! Keep it up!" Sparkler complimented.

Pelame kept up her evasive maneuvers for a few more minutes, not taking a chance to counterattack, despite how many chances were given to her.

Suddenly, Pelame had a flashback. From her perspective, Coin suddenly morphed into Scyther. The image of Scyther swiped at her with his sword arm. She let out a small terrified squeal and suddenly jumped forward, Tackle-attacking Coin without realizing it until he stumbled backward. He held his nose in pain and fell over on his rump.

Everyone in class stopped as soon as Coin cried out in pain. Professor Sparkler came to his aid. Coin moved his hands away from his nose, revealing it to be bleeding.

"Coin, what happened?" Pelame asked.

"You dackled be!" he responded.

"I… I did?"

"You'll be okay, Coin," Sparkler reassured. "Just hold this over your nose. Stay seated, lean forward, pinch it shut, and breathe through your mouth until Nurse Glee arrives." He then took Pelame outside the room to question her.

"It was an accident!" Pelame blurted out in defense. "I should've stayed home like you offered!"

"Calm down, Pelame. You are not in trouble. Just tell me what happened."

"Well, I Tackled Coin, as you saw. But I didn't even know it was him. I thought it was Scyther."

"How could you mistake him for Scyther? They look nothing alike."

"Could it be because she was nearly murdered by him?" asked a Miltank who had just arrived at the classroom. "I heard Adorbs's daughter mention it earlier today. Maybe Pelame was having a flashback."

"Hmm… that could be possible, Glee. Your patient is inside, by the way."

Glee nodded and went into the classroom to retrieve Coin.

"I think you ought to see Adorbs about this, Pelame," Sparkler recommended.

"Yeah, you may be right," she solemnly responded. "I need help."

* * *

As recommended, Pelame went to see Professor Adorbs in the Health building's psychology wing. As she had no appointments, and her next class started at 5:00pm, this was an ideal time for her to see Pelame.

"Good afternoon, Pelame," she greeted. "Have a seat, please."

Pelame did as told.

"Now, Pelame, I want you to know, you are not in trouble. I was told that it was an accident. No charges are being pressed about it. However, it has raised some concerns. You've been going to this Academy for close to three years now, and you've always been adverse to violence, as your low grades in Combat classes indicate. But just today, you lashed out and hurt someone. Again, you're not in any trouble, but I just want to find out exactly what provoked that attack. Tell me what happened from your perspective."

"It's as I told Professor Sparkler," Pelame explained. "I thought it was Scyther, the Team Static member, that I had Tackled. One moment Coin was swiping at me with his Fury Swipes as part of today's evasion lesson, then the next moment I remember when Scyther attacked me. It was like I suddenly started dreaming, because Scyther apparently took Coin's place, so when I Tackled Scyther, I actually Tackled Coin. And that's it."

"I see. I know this will be painful for you, but can you tell me exactly what happened yesterday?"

"I was afraid you'd ask that. Well… I had gone with Professor Spear to observe him during a Nectar run so I could get extra credit. Blessing came along, humiliated everyone—by the way, is she being punished for that?"

"Oh, definitely. I'm expecting she'll be done with that report on why her body is more than an object to joke about."

"I see. Well, anyway, she then followed two of Team Static's members into a cave, and Spear and I also followed her to make sure she was safe. Then a fight broke out when we found out Team Static's plan, and that was when Scyther tried to…"

Pelame couldn't finish that thought.

"…and that's what happened."

"Well, my sympathies to you for having gone through that. To be honest, I don't imagine I'd have handled any better if I were in that predicament. I don't like to fight physically, either. I'd much rather use words."

"Me too, Ms. Adorbs. I can't stand the thought of having to hurt someone. Such an idea was rare where I grew up."

"And where was it you grew up?"

"Promised Land. But actually—do you mind if I explain this? It's a very long story."

"Explain away. We could find out more about you this way."

Encouraged by that statement, Pelame came clean to Adorbs.

"First off, my father is Pinna, the former Lieutenant of the Twilight Kingdom Royal Guard. He fought alongside Captain Keldeo during the Swadfrieg War. I actually was born one year and six months before the war ended, which was why I never knew him for that time. My mom, Neve, raised me by herself. At that time, she and I lived in her hometown of Rogokosoka, which is in Shizazoto. Then, once the war ended and my dad retired from the military, he decided that we all have to live somewhere safe. That was when we moved to Promised Land, where he was born and raised in. I never knew why he hadn't met me until then until one day…"

* * *

_Pinna had settled down for a nap, and Neve was out shopping for groceries. In such a safe residence, there wasn't much danger for a four-year-old Eevee like Pelame to get herself into. She'd seen every corner of the house. In fact, in every house she'd been in, she'd see to it that all parts of it would be seen. A few hosts of those homes were accepting of that behavior (some reluctantly accepting), but some others were offended by her apparent treatment of their homes like she'd lived there her entire life and therefore had the right to go where she wasn't allowed._

_In fact, there _was_ one section of the house she wasn't allowed in. Her dad had forbidden it. However, her dad was asleep now. No one could stop her from discovering that room's secret now._

_She snuck into the garage and approached the shed-like area with all the warning signs posted on it. She'd found the key to that room earlier that day and used it to unlock the door. Inside, she couldn't believe what she uncovered. All along the walls were all sorts of firearms customized for use by a four-legged Pokémon like her dad. And there were even explosive shells, none of which were live anymore. But what got her attention was the knives. One just happened to be within her reach after she'd brought in the smallest stepladder she could find. She moved it in as quietly as she could and stood atop it, grabbing the knife in her teeth. She then slid it onto her right paw and swung it around a few times. She quickly determined it not to be any fun, as well as deeming this entire secret a betrayal of expectations. But unfortunately, she forgot how the knife fit in its display hold. As soon as she let go of it, it fell back down and sliced her left ear._

_Oh, if only she'd respected the sanctity of this area of the house. If only she'd resisted the urge to see everything._

_She let out an agonized scream as she tightly clutched her bleeding ear. Within seconds, her dad was there. _

_"__What happened?!"_

_Now she was definitely in for it. He instantly picked her up and carried her into the house. He brought her to the bathroom and got out some first-aid supplies. As he got to work washing the wounded area to kill any germs and then wrapping her ear in bandages, he began to scold her._

_"__Pelame, why did you disobey me?! Don't you know how dangerous those weapons are?"_

_"__Daddy, I'm sorry! I won't do it again!" Pelame bawled out._

_"__For your sake, I hope you won't!" He had finished administering the bandages, so now he was free to lecture her. "Pelame, accidents like this are why that area was forbidden. You're lucky that knife didn't land in your back. You could've been killed in there, sweetie."_

_"__I'm sorry, Daddy!"_

_"__I know you are. Now, I want you to listen to me: please don't ever go in there again. Something worse could happen to you." Pinna knew the day would come when he'd have to explain why he'd been out of his daughter's life for the first one-and-a-half years of it. "Pelame, do you remember when Mommy and you were growing up in Shizazoto?"_

_"__Yes. I miss that place." Pelame's pain was easing, so her tears were letting up._

_"__Me, too. But I think it's time now for you to know why I wasn't there for the first eighteen months. You see, I was fighting in a big war."_

_"__A war? What's a war?"_

_"__A war is a very big fight. That's the best way I can put it. Anyway—"_

_"__Then why were you fighting? Were you mad at someone?"_

_"__Personally, no, but most everyone in the Twilight Kingdom was mad at everyone in Swadfrieg. See, it started when some crazy nutcase killed the Prime Minister of Swadfrieg."_

_"__That's awful! I hope you caught that guy!"_

_"__No, he was dead before I got stationed there. Anyway, I fought during that war. And while I was fighting, I used more than just my Moves. All of those weapons you saw in that room were used by me during the war. And the enemies had some of their own that were used on me. They're very dangerous objects, Pelame. They're made to hurt and kill."_

_Pinna's expression to his daughter turned stern once again._

_"__And that's why I don't want you in there again."_

_"__Okay. I'll stay away from there."_

_"__Good."_

_"__Thanks for helping me with my ear, Daddy."_

_"__You're welcome, sweetie." He gave his daughter an affectionate nuzzle. "And just to make sure you obey me this time, you're grounded for one month for this disobedience. No TV, movies, or video games until then."_

_"__Aww, but Daddy—"_

_"__Sorry, but that's that."_

* * *

"I told this to Pugno and to Blessing," Pelame said as she finished her story. "Thing is, though Pugno's my best friend, I never met him until he had apprehended Blessing during the last Genesis Day. In fact, he's the first one I actually listened to. I never knew that much about my first friends, since I hardly ever listened to them." Pelame felt ashamed to confess that part. "…looking back, I really wasn't a good friend. They haven't tried to keep in touch with me when they moved away. Despite that, though, I've lived a safe life."

"I see. It sounds like your friendship with Pugno was your first true one."

"I'm starting to think that, too. After all, as I said before, he was the first one I listened to. He might even be the first one I didn't alienate. He enjoys listening to me, too."

Pelame was beginning to come to a realization.

"You know, I don't recall having any desire to leave Promised Land before that day. I mean, yeah, I did go on family vacations with Mom and Dad, but I always came back home from those trips. But meeting Pugno that day changed me somehow. See, I wasn't actually going to go through with applying to Llyria Academy, but then I started contemplating it after that day. I made up my mind when Pugno told me he already sent his application in. It seems like he's given me confidence to see more of the world and crawl out of my sheltered bubble. The last two-and-a-half years have been easygoing, but then the incident yesterday happened… I guess I just wasn't ready for such a thing. I'm so used to Pugno sticking up for me, although not many occasions have popped up lately. But I had to fend for myself that time, and I… I couldn't."

"Well, Pelame, that's—"

"What if it happens again?! What if I run into someone worse than Scyther?! What'll I do if either situation happens?! I'd never survive!"

"Now Pelame, we can't know that for certain. After all, you defended yourself from Coin today. And from what I heard, you went with Spear into that cave to protect Blessing, just in case she needed help."

"Of course! I may have been angry at her for that rump routine she pulled, but I didn't want her killed over it. Although, I wasn't above wishing she'd have been stung by those wild Beedrill."

"Exactly. You seem to have the desire to protect close ones as well as protecting yourself."

"Well, now that things suddenly got so dangerous with Team Static around, of course!"

"I know that feeling. Although Team Static hasn't yet acted on a wide scale yet, there's still a chance that they'll give in to fundamentalism. It happened with the Peaceful Pokémon Haven, and we ended up getting the Swadfrieg War out of that. Now, I don't like to assume that all groups would go out and be that way, but there have been multiple occasions where that mindset has been proven right. Look at all the Pokémon who have it out for me just for sticking up for the rights of classes society views as not-quite-equal. They want all kinds of terrible things to happen to me. Especially Demetrius. Oh, that guy's especially passionate in his hatred of me."

"I'm very sorry to hear that, Professor. I admire you not just for all you've done for those mistreated Pokémon, but for being able to have the peace of mind to deal with the fools who try to take their anger at changing society out on you. How do you do it?"

"Well, much like you, I don't like violence. I'd rather not hurt anyone, which is why any time I had to do a protest, I did so in a peaceful manner. However, I do have combat skill. I've learned to fight _just in case_ of the unlikely chance that I'm attacked."

Pelame gulped. "I was afraid of that."

"And as you're majoring in Historical Studies, that field may require you to travel around a lot, putting you in the territory of wild Pokémon who don't think anything of violence."

"Yeah… but with this Team Static situation, I'm afraid. I don't want to get killed, but it looks like they're going to stop being adverse to that." Pelame sighed in resignation. "I guess I'm going to have to learn to fight after all."

"It's never easy to make a choice like that," Adorbs clarified. "But ultimately, it may just turn out to be the right one."

"I feel like you're right about that, Professor. With the upcoming two-week holiday for Spring Break, I think I'll have to devote it to training. Though I don't want to upset a plan Pugno and I made. He and I were to go to Pathway Town for a vacation on the first week."

"There's no reason to interrupt that vacation. As I understand, Pugno is a straight-A Combat student. I'm sure he can tutor you."

"He's trying to, actually. I'll just have to see how this goes. Thanks, Professor. Have a nice day." Pelame got up off the seat.

"You, too. And please don't be a stranger. I'm always willing to help."

Pelame bid the psychologist goodbye and left the Health Building.

* * *

Over the remainder of the school week prior to the break, Pelame's performance in Combat class had steadily been getting better. The flashbacks had disappeared once she had gotten it in her head that she was in no danger, and so she had no reason to freak out and hurt someone. Coin had even stopped being angry at her once he heard why she broke his nose, which had fully recovered. Pretty soon, the day everyone anticipated came.

"Fourthmonth 9th, you're finally here!" Pugno cried in excitement. "Ready to go, Pelame? The bus to Pathway Town will be leaving in two hours."

"Yep, I'm ready," Pelame answered as she slipped her backpack on. "I can't believe it took us so long to finally get around to this trip."

"Well, things just kept popping up; projects, visits, and even the jobs we were doing for the money we saved for this trip. But we can finally relax now."

"Uh, Pugno, about that…"

"What is it?"

"If we ever get a moment, would you mind tutoring me on how to fight?"

"Oh, certainly!" Pugno answered joyfully.

With that cleared up, the two were off to the Llyria Union Station, where they'd catch their morning Dodriopower Bus to Pathway Town.. To their surprise, they found Blessing and Torden at the station as well.

"Let me guess: Pathway Town?" Blessing asked.

"Right," Pelame answered. "I take it you two are going, too?"

"Right!" Blessing and Torden answered.

_"__Why now? This was to be a private vacation between me and Pugno!"_ Pelame thought to herself.

"Well, that is, if Torden remembered to bring the bus tickets," Blessing chided, prodding the chubby Pikachu with her elbow. She drew her right foot back.

"Got 'em right here," Torden smugly replied. "I just printed them out last night. You know, I kinda pity you, Pelame and Pugno, for not catching up with the times. You know you didn't have to come all the way down to this station to get your tickets, right? Dodriopower sells bus tickets online now."

Blessing put her foot back down. "Well, good for you, Torden. You saved yourself from another butt-kicking."

"Good. I can still feel the one you gave me for working on the Porygon project."

"Well, next time, pick a time for that project better than when you were supposed to be doing the Architecture project!"

"Pelame, aren't you glad _we_ don't bicker like that?" Pugno whispered.

"Ecstatic," Pelame whispered back. "Though why'd they have to come along with us? We were supposed to be going alone."

"I didn't know they'd be going there, too. But don't worry; I'll make sure they don't ruin our fun."

The bus came as scheduled, and the four friends boarded, showing their tickets to the Delcatty driver. As the bus was currently in its 20-minute layover time, Torden took this chance to gush.

"This is the first time I've ever actually seen a driver's seat for four-legged Pokémon!" he started.

"But Torden, isn't your dad a Manectric?" Pelame asked.

"My mom's a Raichu. She always did the driving," Torden answered quickly and tensely. "Now, anyway, I've always wanted to see one in use, even though I know how it works. See that part of the dashboard that looks like a wheel that can be spun?"

"Ye—"

"The driver uses their preferred paw to push down on it and spin it, and that steers the vehicle. The other paw works the pedals. And unlike cars for two-legged Pokémon, it's not harmful to press both the brake and gas pedals at the same time. In four-legged drivable cars, the brake takes priority over the gas since a four-legged Pokémon can't switch pedals as easily. In fact, it's actually built so that the paw used for steering can press the brake pedal, which also resets the steering disc back to neutral. Oh, and the steering disc is a hollow circle so that the odometer, tachometer, speedometer, and all the other dashboard '-ometers' can be placed there within view."

"My goodness! You certainly know your vehicles," said the impressed Delcatty. "Everything you just said is 100% correct!"

Torden blushed at the compliment. "Although the one part I forgot to mention was that a Pokémon as drop-dead gorgeous as you is driving it. I hope we get to Pathway Town soon."

Delcatty giggled at the pass. "Oh, I'll miss you once we get there."

"Torden…" Blessing said in a threatening tone.

"Well, nice talking to you, miss driver," Torden said, following Blessing to the back of the bus. Pelame and Pugno took the seats in the middle.

"No way am I sitting near those two," Pugno said. "You in the mood to put up with them?"

"No," Pelame quickly answered.

The layover ended, and the bus departed for Pathway.


	7. Vacation in Pathway

Chapter 7 – Vacation in Pathway

* * *

What was close to a seven-hour drive in a car became a nine hour drive in the bus. Traffic was mainly to blame for that. But it gave Pelame, Pugno, and everyone on board time to rest up. Or, they _would_ be resting a lot more peacefully if Blessing and Torden would keep their mouths shut.

"Ugh, are those two idiots not capable of being quiet?" asked a shiny mienfoo with a slight accent who was walking down the aisle. She stopped at the row Pelame and Pugno occupied. "Is this seat free, by any chance?"

"Certainly!" Pugno offered. The mienfoo then took the last seat of the row, sitting next to Pugno.

"I see you've met some friends of ours—"

"Friends, you say?! Oh, goodness, they must annoy you to no end!"

"Yep. Torden's said that whole spiel about phones for four-legged Pokémon so many times I have it memorized. He's practically dedicated himself to making it known that he knows that those phones have two stands, one for speaking into and one as the earpiece to be leaned against to hear the Pokémon on the other line, and there's a number pad that's used for dialing a phone number—yeah, like I said, it's infectious. I just quoted that spiel myself."

"He must be very charismatic, then." The mienfoo extended her hand for a handshake. "My name's Wangrey."

"I'm Pugno," Pugno greeted, shaking Wangrey's hand. "And this is my friend Pelame. She had a bit of a rough week, so let's let her sleep."

"No problem."

Pretty soon, Blessing and Torden had run out of things to talk about, so once they went to sleep, so did the rest of the passengers.

* * *

And so, at 5:00PM, the bus arrived at the Pathway Station. Everyone on board was relieved to get off.

"I never thought I'd say this, but my headache managed to get even worse," Pelame heard a disembarking psyduck say.

The Pathway Station wasn't nearly as big as the Llyria Union Station, but its retro look was refreshing to look at. In fact, this entire section of town was a throwback to an earlier era. It seemed to be a throwback to the exact era when television first became a family room mainstay.

"So, this is what the 1440s were like," Torden summarized. "I think Henry would love some pictures of this."

"Uh, Torden, he's the Technological Science Department Head," Blessing reminded. "I'm sure he'd know about this era already. He likely lived it."

"Seeing as how he was born in 1466, I'd say 'no' to that."

"Oh, wow, really? You actually memorized his birthdate? What, are you some kind of stalker?"

"Please don't start in again, you two," Pugno scolded. "Remember, we're here to give Pelame some peace of mind."

"And… we're doing that by…?"

"Well… actually, I don't know yet. But you two bickering is just tensing her up more."

Blessing and Torden took the hint in Pugno's annoyed tone.

"So, where's the motel at?" Torden asked.

"In the Northern District," Pugno answered. "We can take a local city bus there."

"Good idea, Pugno. I read online that they offer discounts for students. We'll only be paying 50 Parts each."

With the plan set, the four went to the local bus stop and caught a bus to the Northern District. In half an hour, they arrived there. The stop was on a curb near the busier area of the town, about three blocks away from the motel. On the walk there, Pelame took note of the location of the giant climbing tree. Along the way, they came across a sizable amount of Team Static flyers advertising open spots in the team. Pugno took one down and put it in his backpack, figuring it could be important. It was unlike the ones they saw in Llyria.

_"__Why are they advertising here?"_ Pugno wondered.

At the traffic light across the street from the motel, Blessing saw an ad for Pathway Tours. She placed that one in her backpack. One crossing of that street later, and the four friends were at their destination. Torden was suddenly awash in memory, as this was where he had met Pelame and Pugno. The four checked in and then set their items down in the room they were given. Room 208 was one of the only ones that would fit four Pokémon. As soon as they were settled, Torden switched on the TV. The rerun of _The Squirtle Squad_ was about ten minutes in with a new episode following after it.

"You know, I heard on an online message board that this episode was bad," Torden said. "I recognized it as soon as I saw that last part just now, when Bill just turned in that report he copied from Lanette."

The commercial break started up and played the usual junk Torden wished he could skip. Then suddenly, a certain ad got their attention.

* * *

_The ad depicted a young dratini frolicking around in a bathtub that was just its size. It looked absolutely blissful just messing around._

_"__What a great time that cute little guy is having," an announcer said. "That tub is just the right size for him."_

_Suddenly, the dratini evolved into a dragonair. As dragonair was much bigger and longer than dratini, he suddenly didn't fit in the tub. He tried to wriggle free, but couldn't lodge himself out._

_"__But if he ever grew any bigger…"_

* * *

"No… way…" Torden silently mouthed, instantly recognizing the announcer's voice as Snivy's.

* * *

_As the dragonair continued to struggle out of his tight predicament, he suddenly evolved into a dragonite. Upon this, the poor thing went from barely being able to move to not being able to move at all._

_"__He'd be in for a lethal squeeze."_

_The scene shifted back to the dratini in the tub. A familiar figure was standing next to him._

* * *

"Wynaut?!"

"I knew it!" Pelame cried. "I knew from that rhetoric that this was a Team Static ad!"

* * *

_"__Little one, you wouldn't want to go through that, would you?" Wynaut asked._

_"__No, I don't wanna!" Dratini answered._

_"__Well, luckily, I know a way for you to stay a dratini forever. See, I'm part of a group called Team Static. We wish to get rid of evolution, and I've discovered a way to. See this?"_

_The camera focused on the Everstone Wynaut was holding._

_"__This is an Everstone. It will stop you from evolving if you hold it. But it's such a hassle to keep holding onto it, right?"_

_The scene then changed to a diagram of what Wynaut explained next._

_"__Therefore, with a quick and painless surgical procedure, I can place this Everstone within your body, making its effect permanent. This will only cost 85 Pokéns, but to save you from evolution, it's a worthwhile investment. Wouldn't you agree?"_

_"__Yes! I _love_ being a dratini!"_

_The scene then shifted to a picture of an Everstone with a small spark engraved on it, which served as the Team Static logo._

_"__Save yourself from evolution! Join Team Static today!" Snivy announced as the scene shifted to her._

_"__If you wish to either join or get an Everstone implant, seek me out, or call this number," Snivy said as a phone number appeared below her. "Have a nice day!"_

* * *

"Those pieces of junk!" Torden shouted.

"Wow, Torden, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with you," Pugno added. "How did they get permission to air this propaganda?"

"Wait, isn't 0151 the area code of Lake Llyria?" Pelame asked, remembering an important detail. "You think that could be where they're headquartered?"

"That could be possible," Pugno replied. He then picked up the room phone and dialed the number of Lake Llyria.

"Hello, you've reached Lake Llyria Resort," said the automated message system. "Our hours are 8 o'clock AM to 10 o'clock PM daily, including all holidays. If you would like the cabin booking department, press 1. If you would like the free swim shore, press 2. If you would like the event booking department, press 3. Otherwise, stay on the line for the next available operator." The busy tone sounded four times before an operator finally picked up. "Hello. This is Solosis. How may I assist you?"

"Hello, Solosis. Listen, I have reason to believe a criminal organization is headquartered on the premises of the Lake. Can you launch an investigation?"

"Well, I've never heard of such a thing happening—"

"I just saw an ad of theirs on TV. Their phone number has the same area code as the Lake."

"That could be coincidental, but we'll look into it for you. Thanks for the warning."

"You're welcome. Have a nice day."

"You too. Goodbye." Both Pokémon then hung their phones up.

With that matter settled, the four friends finished watching their favorite show. After the new episode was over, the four friends switched the channel over to the new episode of _Charge Brothers_.

"Eww, gross!" Pelame said. "You watch that junk?!"

"Junk?!" Blessing responded defensively. "Excuse me, Pelame, but this happens to be the greatest and funniest show of all primetime television!"

"Blessing, no show that had its lead plusle dare his minun brother to shout the word 'blinder' in a room full of Shiny Pokémon is any good. Not to mention its offensive caricatures of Shiny Pokémon, and Pokémon from Shizazoto, Tradja, the Twilight Kingd—anywhere, really!"

"Well, _Squirtle Squad_ does that, too! That's the thing about these satire sitcoms; they make fun of everyone and everything."

"Not to the extent _Charge Brothers_ does it! The way they do it is so offensive I seriously think the writers are bigoted! I'm going outside!"

Pelame did just that. Pugno followed, despite being able to stand the show.

"Hey, Pugno. I thought you'd be watching the show. You can go do so, if you want."

"I'd rather not leave you alone," Pugno answered. "Not when there's thugs like Team Static around. Besides, I'd rather not watch it with those two."

"Also, I'm kinda hungry. Want to go get something to eat?"

"You don't need to ask."

* * *

After dinner at the local Char Brothers', Pelame and Pugno went to a childhood favorite destination of Pugno's. They had hiked to the top of the Overlook Plateau, where they could get a great view of the entire town. Pathway was small enough to be seen from just one plateau. But the best part was that, by law, all the city's lights were to go off for the entire 9 o'clock hour. When that was done, the stars in the sky were visible.

"Hey, Pelame, remember the first date we had?" Pugno asked.

"Oh, how could I forget? _Jirachi's Final Wish_ is still my favorite movie!" Pelame answered. "In fact, this sky is totally reminding me of the part where Taiyang and Jirachi just stargazed."

"Yeah…"

The two of them picked out as many constellations as they could see. Then once that was over, Pugno turned to Pelame, looking directly into her eyes.

"Wow… Pelame, your eyes…"

"Yes?"

"They're like shining emeralds. Really, somehow, your green eyes really are brought out in the starlight."

"Same with yours, except yours look more like rubies."

They kept their eye contact going for about half a minute. Then Pugno took a quick look around.

"What? What is it?" Before Pelame's question could be answered, Pugno suddenly kissed her. She took a bit to comprehend what just happened, and then kissed back once she realized it. It felt refreshing to do this under such beautiful scenery and with a soothing night wind blowing.

"Pelame…" Pugno said once they were done kissing. "I think I just realized something. I… I love you."

Pelame gasped in shock. She couldn't believe what she just heard. She got her thoughts together in time to adequately respond. "Oh, Pugno. I love you, too."

"Really?"

"Of course! You're the first friend I ever had who revealed a side of me that made me able to keep a friend for longer than a year. I feel safe… and comfortable near you, Pugno. You're one of the best Pokémon who ever happened to my life."

"Pelame, you're the same for me. I think my life completed itself once I met you."

With all their loviest-doviest babble said, the two kissed once more.

* * *

Fourthmonth 10th, 1512 was the date the Pathway Town tour was to begin. Pelame, Pugno, Blessing, and Torden got up at exactly 8:00 AM to go join the 9:30 AM tour. First on the program was the rundown of the town's history. All of the visitors gathered in front of the mr. mime serving as the tour guide.

"Greeting, all visitor to our town of Pathway," he began.

_"__Shouldn't he be saying 'greeting_s_,' as a plural term?"_ Pelame wondered to herself.

"On the job, my name is Navigator, so please call me that if you have any question. Do you have any question?" He noticed Pelame was raising her paw. "Yes? How about you?"

"Why are you saying those singular terms that ought to be plural?" Pelame asked. "As in, 'do you have any question' instead of 'do you have any questions?'"

All of the tourists looked back at Pelame in disbelief.

"Just another on-the-job quirk," Navigator answered. "I'm not like this off the clock, just so you know." He then returned to addressing the group. "Now then, about this town's history. This town was built as a rest and restocking stop for spelunker who explored the nearby Mystery Dungeon that used to be everywhere around these part. There was no telling what danger would come out of those many Dungeon, so they needed a safe place to unwind after a hard day's work. But since the land between those Dungeon was so sparse, the town ended up being a very small size. The Southern District was closer to the Dungeon, so it would get ransacked a lot by the wild Pokémon living in the nearby Dungeon. On the other hand, the Northern District was safe from harm. Then, when all the Dungeon disappeared from the world, the town lost its purpose as a traveler's pit stop. What few visitor the town would get would stay for a while, admiring the town's landmark that were left there as the only remain of the Dungeon that used to be all over the place. Word got out, and in five year, the town became the tourist attraction it is today. Since that day, it was named Pathway, having had no proper name before."

_"__Wow, that is _really_ confusing,"_ Pelame lamented about Navigator's speech quirk.

"And that's all for today's part of the tour," Navigator concluded to the immediate chagrin of everyone attending.

"Seriously?!" shouted an especially miffed mankey. "I paid 40 Pokéns for a minutes-long second-grader essay about this town?!"

"Tomorrow, the tour will continue at the Giant Climbing Tree. See you then!" Navigator then created a ball out of Barriers and then rolled away with it. Getting the hint, the tourists all dispersed. As they did, Blessing noticed someone familiar to her.

"Flygon? Is that you?" she called out. Pelame, Pugno, and Torden were surprised to see that she was calling out to a salamence. Their shock grew when the salamence actually responded to that name.

"Why, if it isn't my pal Blessing!" answered the salamence.

"Pelame, Pugno, Torden, meet Flygon," Blessing introduced.

"Uhh… Blessing? That's a salamence," Pelame corrected.

"…sheesh, Pelame, I can smell the soap drifting from your platform. I _know_ he's a salamence. His name is Flygon. I met him in jail."

Pelame and Pugno failed to be surprised to hear that, although Torden was a bit taken aback.

"Nice to meet you all," Flygon greeted. "I take it you're on vacation, too?"

"For a week, but yeah," Pelame answered. "So, why do you have the name of a different species of Pokémon?"

"That's simple. It's because my kind should have been called 'Flygon!'—yeah, just kidding, but there was a time in my life where I really did believe that. And during that time, it was the source of all my anger problems. I ended up accumulating a large amount of property damage and injuries whenever I raged about it, and one day, I was finally caught and jailed."

"Oh, you should've seen how he was caught! It was so hilarious!"

"Oh, for goodness' sake…" Flygon muttered.

"It was an altaria named Silver who caught Flygon. See, she was Mega Evolved at the time, and Flygon seriously thought he could take her on. He flew right into her and faceplanted directly into her cloudy down! The only part of his body that could be seen was his tail and his butt! For the entire trip to the jail I was at—"

"Klingdale Correctional Facility to be exact."

"Uh, yeah. Thanks for the reminder, Flygon. Anyway, on the entire trip there—I saw it through an inmate's binoculars, by the way—he was just helplessly wriggling around, trying to get out of Silver's clouds! When he landed, literally everyone broke out into laughter, including myself, of course. Oh, I wish I was filming that! I even suggested he be left there so we can watch his butt helplessly and uselessly wriggle around! Of course, my suggestion wasn't taken, and they also didn't let me run up there to go kick his exposed seat. They just pulled him out. Well, after slapping a PP-Zero bracelet onto his tail to keep him from using any Moves to escape. But still, it was so hilarious!"

As Blessing was recounting this humiliating event, Flygon's face grew more and more annoyed. Not to mention red with embarrassment. "…yes, I can tell you were amused. You'll _never_ forget it, will you?" he snarled.

"I didn't get to see him all that much, 'cause he was constantly visiting a therapist about his anger problems. Somehow, he ended up being released before I was."

"Well, that's because it was my first time in jail, as opposed to your two times."

"So, how have you been since then, old pal?"

"Calmer. And constantly searching for work. And only now have I finally found a job. You'll have me as the tour guide on Thursday, where I'll be showing the skyline to everyone. Looking forward to it?"

"Oh, definitely!" Pelame answered.

"Good. I promise you'll like it. After all, no Pokémon flies better than me!" Flygon couldn't resist adding a smug and confident smile to that remark.

"If this were a cartoon, there'd be a twinkle in his teeth right now," Torden whispered to Pugno, who nodded in agreement.

"Well, I'll be seeing you all then! Keep looking forward to it!" And with that, Flygon was off.

"So… now what?" Pelame asked. "Today's tour was an absolute bust, and we didn't have anything else planned. So what will we do now?"

* * *

The four friends, strapped for ideas, were now just flipping channels on their room's TV. They all found themselves wishing they were young enough to tolerate what was on each channel at this exact time, since nothing grabbed their attention.

"Nothing on TV, tour ending early, stores and restaurants too crowded, park being rebuilt," Pugno listed off. "This is officially the most boring day of my life."

"You preach to the choir there, Pugno," Torden agreed. "I'd let you all play my Fudapan Pocket Friend, but its batteries ran out. We pretty much have absolutely nothing to do, unless we want to run afoul of Pathway's tour season laws by checking each landmark out ourselves."

The four friends sighed in disappointment and boredom, resigned to the fact that this day would be spent doing nothing at all. And unfortunately for them, it was. Not even combat training Pelame eased the boredom.

* * *

One aspect about tour season in Pathway that was popular with most visitors was the fact that once a landmark was discussed and viewed during the tour, it was then open and free for revisiting. This didn't mean much on Tuesday, when only the Giant Climbing Tree was covered. "Whoop-dee-doo," many a tourist thought at the prospect of only a tree being open for revisits. But it was Wednesday's schedule that opened up a rather large section of the town. Specifically, the outskirts were now open for free exploration. Pelame and her friends were joined by Wangrey in exploring the outskirts further.

Wangrey was quite the experienced climber. Being the only quadruped in a group of bipeds, Pelame was finding it difficult to make it over some of the tougher climbs in the deserted outskirts. Wangrey had to carry her over those areas.

After some trekking, the five discovered an opening in the cliffside. In front of it was a small vent.

"Here's something the tour left out," Wangrey said. "I wonder if this is a leftover Mystery Dungeon?"

"If its interior layout changes upon a revisit, then it is," Pelame added. "But Mystery Dungeons shouldn't exist anymore. This might just be a regular cave."

"Actually, it's a mine, and you would all best stay out of it if you know what's good for you."

The five friends looked around, trying to find who just spoke to them. A small paras approached them.

"Don't go in there, please. A friend of mine nearly died in there. He dug deep in there and uncovered a chamber full of hydrogen sulfide."

"Hydrogen sulfide? What's that?" Blessing asked.

"I remember Professor Tectarro mentioning that," Pelame explained. "And Professor Bibli mentioned it, too. They both said it's a hazard that many an explorer have run into. It's a poisonous natural gas that can potentially kill someone."

"Yes, and it nearly killed a friend of mine who was mining in here," Paras explained.

"That's awful! Is he okay?"

"Luckily, he is. I managed to retrieve him in time to save him. I didn't allow him in there again until I got a gas mask for him."

"That's good. And if you don't mind my asking, what was he mining from here?"

"My apologies, but I can't tell you. It's a secret."

Pelame then noticed something odd about the lumpy space between Paras's eyes.

"What is that there?" she asked, pointing to the suspicious spot.

"It's a scar," Paras answered. "I got hurt long ago."

The five travelers didn't know what to make of any of this that had just happened.

"Anyway, it was nice meeting all of you. I hope you enjoy the rest of the tour, and please don't ever go in there." Paras then left after saying that.

"What an odd guy…" Pelame noted. She then focused back on her friends. "So, want to go back to town now?"

"Well, I would've wanted to explore that mine," Pugno answered. "But I'd rather not, now that I know there's poison gas in there. So, sure, I'm up for going back to town."

"I guess there's nothing better to do…" Blessing added.

"Well, we could always go to the video store on the way, or the arcade," Torden suggested.

"Sure, but after dinner," Pelame decided. "I don't know about all of you, but I'm starving."

With their minds made up, the five travelers went on their way back to town. As soon as they reached the general populated area of Pathway, they were stopped by a mime jr.

"_There_ you all are!" he called. "I was wondering where you five went to! I saw you heading out into those badlands and so I went to contact the police." He turned around to face the three cops behind him. "It's okay, officers."

Two of the officer ariados went away grumbling, but one of them stayed. "You kids sure are reckless," he scolded. "You ought not go that far out there ever again. Rogue Pokémon gather out there, and you could've run afoul of them."

"Thanks for your concern, officer, but I think I could've handled myself and protected my friends," Wangrey responded.

"Against the likes of the brutes out there? Sorry, but that's not likely. And considering how far out you went, you also could've fallen into that poisonous Everstone mine."

"Excuse me, what was that you just said?" Pelame asked in shock.

"There's a mine full of Everstones out there," officer Ariados explained. "It was shut down a while ago on account of those particular Everstones having a harmful and poisonous chemical makeup, unlike all the other Everstones in the world. But there have been reports of a group of Pokémon going into that mine and taking its Everstones."

Pelame, Pugno, Blessing, and Torden all had the same thought upon hearing that. "Team Static!"

"Who?" asked officer Ariados and Wangrey in unison.

* * *

The five travelers, Mime Jr., and officer Ariados went to the nearby Police Station so Pelame could give her report.

"Team Static is a group of Pokémon who are trying to get rid of evolution," she explained. "We don't know who their leader is, but we've met his underlings: Snivy, Scyther, and Wynaut. And that paras we met in front of the mine might be yet another underling. But anyway, Snivy's the spokesgirl, I don't know what Scyther's job is, and Wynaut's their surgeon. He implants Pokémon with an Everstone, and that keeps them from evolving forever! In fact, they already had that surgery done to themselves, which means you can identify them by their surgery scars. They need to be stopped!"

Officer Ariados typed everything he had just heard into a digital report. "That's one messed up group, I must say. Do you know where they're headquartered?"

"We think they may be hiding out at Lake Llyria," Pugno answered. "Their phone number in their ad started with the Lake's area code. I let the Lake staff know already."

"Good initiative. All right, I think that's all I need. We'll keep an eye on those individuals. Thanks for your information. Stay safe, now."

* * *

Char Brothers' was a no-go, considering that a shiny Mienfoo was among the group. They were willing to settle for a smaller, cheaper, and unhealthier dinner at Big Poffins.

"Ugh, Poffins…" Torden complained. "And after losing so much weight, too…"

"So, Wangrey, you're on vacation, too?" Pelame asked to get a conversation going.

"Yes I am," Wangrey answered. "I'm visiting here from Shizazoto. I must say, apart from a few facilities shunning me for being shiny, it's been a great trip."

"I had a feeling you were native to Shizazoto. Your accent tipped me off."

"Did it now? Well, you sure are perceptive."

"I've been wanting to go there again someday. I may not look like it, but I'm half-Shizazoto and half-Twilight Kingdom ethnicity. Since my dad is Twilight Kingdom ethnicity and nationality, my nationality defaulted to his even though I was born in Shizazoto, per the Twilight Kingdom citizenship laws."

"Oh, I knew you had a bit of Shizazoto in you, Pelame. I can see it in your ears. That spot near the middle on the side is a little bit thicker than an Eevee of full Twilight Kingdom ethnicity would be, and I've known that to be a physical quirk of many quadruped Pokémon from Shizazoto."

"I see. Can you excuse me for a sec? I need to use the restroom." Pelame quickly excused herself.

As this was a small restaurant, the restrooms were located in a smaller building outside in the back. Pelame had no trouble finding it, and it was also easy to locate the proper facilities for quadruped Pokémon like herself. After freshening up, she headed back inside when she met up with a familiar face.

"Hello again," Paras greeted. "Enjoying your meal?"

"I haven't eaten yet," Pelame answered. "Before you go, I want to ask you something."

"Sorry, but I have somewhere to be."

"I promise this'll be quick. Can I know more about that scar? Because it looks just like the ones I've seen on Pokémon who belong to a group called Team Static…" Pelame caught herself at that remark, then came to a realization. "Wait… you can't be…"

Paras said nothing in response. He just shut his eyes and smiled.

"How could you?! Don't you know what a terrible thing it is you've done to yourself?!"

"No, Pelame. It's _you_ who have done a terrible thing to _yourself_! Seven evolution choices, and you're leaving yourself susceptible to all of them! I started Team Static to help Pokémon like you, and this is what I get in return?!"

"Wait, what do you mean you started—" Then Pelame understood completely, and the truth terrified her.

"You really are perceptive, Pelame. I'm not just a member of Team Static; I'm the founder and the boss."

Pelame backed away from Paras in terror.

"I don't understand, Pelame. Why risk evolving? Do you like being an eevee? Does your friend Pugno like being a riolu? Please don't be afraid of me."

"Why shouldn't I be afraid of you?! Your follower tried to cut my head off!"

"Oh, thanks for reminding me of that. I've been wanting to meet you to give you my apologies for that terrible incident. I'd never want you dead over a simple disagreement of views. But I would like to understand why you think evolution is so great."

"Oh, I don't know! Maybe because it's what lots of Pokémon look forward to doing when they grow up! You're basically taking away their right to mature! How do you even sleep at night knowing what you've done?!"

Paras shook his head in disappointment. "So confused. Those are words of an evolution-loving shill. You know, you seemed a lot smarter that day I met you in the theatre when _Jirachi's Final Wish_ premiered. Sure, maybe _you_ could prosper if you evolved, but _me? _Know what _I_ have to look forward to when _I_ evolve?! I get to be a cadaver animated by a mushroom!"

"That's not true! Well, not in all cases, but that doesn't mean you get to take away _everyone's_ right to evolve! You should've seen the end of the movie, when Fungus—"

"SILENCE! Do not speak of that monster to me!" Paras was surprised with himself for that outburst. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Pelame, you're a smart girl, all things considered. So please understand that what I hope to do for the world is ultimately for its own good. And I have a way to accomplish it."

For some reason, Pelame was suddenly feeling very tense.

"While I was last in that mine about a week ago, I came into contact with a marvelous power. It was incredible. I could feel it flowing through me and making me stronger. I could even hear what it was saying to me. It called itself the 'Dark Blessing.' With it, I feel as though I can do anything."

"…"

"I will finally rid the world of evolution. But in due time, though. Pelame, I don't wish any harm to come to you, but I can't promise your safety if you try to get in my way. I tried to be as peaceful as I could, but the world only listens to force and fear nowadays. The Swadfrieg War was evidence of that. I didn't want to—really, I didn't—but I'm afraid that I must act without peace. I must act with force, as that's all the world will listen to anymore."

Pelame's temper finally got the best of her, and she let it all out. "You're out of your mind! No! I'm not letting you get away with whatever you're planning to do! I don't care what you do to me! I will not be afraid of you or your team!"

"Pelame, please follow my suggestion. Just go on with your studies and move on with your life. Just remember that it'll be thanks to me that you'll be living it as an eevee." Paras left with those cryptic words.

* * *

For this week, even Team Static had been taking a vacation. But now, Paras decided it was time to call it off. He met his followers in the first chamber of the mine. In a safe chamber like this, gas masks weren't necessary.

"Good evening, sir," Snivy greeted. "Did you enjoy your dinner?"

"Yes, I did," Paras kindly answered his underling. "How about all of you? Sorry I couldn't join you."

"It's all right."

"We saved you a slice of Enigma Poffin," Wynaut said, offering up the treat. "Anyway, you seem a bit perturbed. What's on your mind?"

"Pelame."

"Huh? You mean that eevee I lashed out against? Did you let her know how sorry I am for that?" Scyther asked.

"Yes, I did. By the way, I'm cancelling your probation for that, Scyther."

"Ooh, thanks! So why is she on your mind?"

"She still embraces the idea of evolving. Plus, she correctly identified me as the leader of Team Static in seconds, all because she noticed my scar. I thought I'd had it hidden better."

Paras sighed in disappointment. Facing his followers, he gave his announcement.

"In order for the plan to succeed, we need resources that can't be easily claimed. Llyria Academy should serve our needs well enough. Plus, I think we've used that underground hideout at the Lake for long enough. Everyone, it's time for us to relocate."

* * *

The day was now Thursday, the tour day Pelame and her friends had been looking forward to all week. At sunset, it would be Flygon's job to fly tourists up to see the town's famous skyline. Until then, Pelame devoted her time to combat training. This was the first time she ever devoted herself to combat so fully. Although she hadn't caught up to Pugno's skill (nor did she think she ever would), she was beginning to finally get the hang of self-defense.

"Well, one thing's for sure," Pugno summarized as another of his jabs missed. "You're a lot better at dodging and guarding. Want to try attacking now?"

"If you're up to it, then yeah," Pelame answered.

"All right. I'll be on my guard now."

Pelame began by rushing at Pugno, colliding with him before he could do anything about it.

"Wow, Pelame. Guess you just learned Quick Attack."

"Huh? Is that what that was?"

"Oh, yes it was. Aramir showed my class how to tell the difference between a Tackle and a Quick Attack. I've been taught to recognize a wide array of moves."

With that lecture done, the two got back to practicing.

* * *

While that was going on, Blessing and Torden were out on the town. After a stop at the giant climbing tree, they decided to go to the arcade. They kept a close eye on the time, as it was only fifteen minutes away from the next tour time. A worthy distraction came up when they spotted Snivy through the window. She was walking down the street. They walked away from their game of competitive _Dodrio Talon Trot_ and followed the Team Static spokesgirl.

They followed her into the alley, where she entered the back door of a currently closed convenience mart. Despite being closed, the back door was unlocked. Snivy entered, and so did her pursuers. They hid as soon as they heard someone speaking to their target.

"Is the truck here?" Snivy was asked by a familiar voice. Blessing peeked around the wall and saw that Snivy was talking to the paras she and her friends had met yesterday.

"Yes, sir," Snivy answered. "I paid it in full. I also took the liberty to send a thank-you note to Wynaut's aunt for supplying us the money to get the truck and our other supplies."

"Nicely done. Then let's be on our way."

Blessing and Torden got themselves ready to intercept the team as they left. As they walked past the doorway, Blessing struck out with an Ice Beam as Torden unleashed a Thunderbolt. To their surprise, Snivy jumped in front of her boss and took the attacks. They got another attack ready, but Paras hit them with a Stun Spore first, freezing the two in place. He then gave Snivy a Cheri Berry to cure the paralysis he accidentally inflicted on her.

"Meet up with Scyther and Wynaut and help them get the truck packed," he ordered. "And thanks for protecting me, and sorry for paralyzing you."

"You're welcome, sir. Understood." Snivy went off to her duty. Paras then focused his attention on the two intruders.

"I remember you two from yesterday," he said. "Your friend Pelame was very perceptive to have been able to identify me right away as Team Static's leader. I presume she already told you about me."

"Yeah, she did," Blessing retorted as curtly as she could. "She also mentioned that you were completely out of your mind, too."

"Well, that doesn't surprise me to hear how low of an opinion she has of me. She _is_ an evolution-loving shill, after all. I hope you two aren't following her example."

"Tough luck, Paras, because we are."

"Hey, uh, could I have a Cheri Berry?" Torden interrupted.

"Well, regardless, I can't overlook your attack on my colleague—" Paras continued, ignoring Torden.

"Oh, you mean the idiot who jumped in the way of our attacks?!" Blessing shot back.

"—I can only assume that you mean us harm, and I will not tolerate that. Therefore, you two are coming with us." With that, Paras shot his Spore attack at them, putting them to sleep. He then grabbed a nearby rope and tied Blessing and Torden up with it, binding their hands and feet together in front of them. He also got some tape and plastered some strips over Torden's electric cheek pouches, and two more strips over their mouths.

* * *

Snivy, Scyther, and Wynaut had finished packing the truck with their supplies.

"Sorry I'm late," Paras announced as he arrived. "We're bringing along an extra set of packages. Scyther, if you please."

"Certainly," Scyther responded. "No one gets away with trying to hurt you, sir." He then picked up the two prisoners on the blunt edges of his sword arms and put them in the trailer of the truck.

"Okay, team. We're off!"

Upon Paras's announcement, they were off. Wynaut was given the job of driving the truck.

"Hey sir," Snivy said. "Why not let me drive? I'm the one who bought the truck."

"I know that, and I appreciate it. However, you're needed to keep an eye on the map. Now that both this town and Lake Llyria have been tipped off about us, we need to take a different route."

Snivy wasn't happy with her lowly new post. Wynaut started up the truck and the team was off at last, with their two prisoners regaining consciousness too late.

_"__Get ready, world,"_ Paras thought to himself. _"With the help of my Dark Blessing, I will rescue this world from evolution."_


	8. Llyria Academy Besieged

Chapter 8 – Llyria Academy Besieged

* * *

The time was now 6:45 PM, Flygon's time on the punch clock.

"Where in the world are Blessing and Torden?!" Pelame asked, having run out of patience. "It's our turn next to be flown up to see the skyline!"

"I don't know, Pelame," Pugno answered, trying to calm his friend down. As soon as Flygon landed and dropped his current passengers off, Pelame and Pugno had no choice but to go on without their friends. Only Wangrey was there to accompany them.

"Anyone else?" Flygon asked. "I can carry up to ten of you. Doesn't matter how big or heavy you are. I'm a strong guy." No one took him up on the offer. "All right, then. Seatbelts on, everyone?"

Pelame, Pugno, and Wangrey buckled themselves into the saddle's seatbelts.

"Okay, then. Only one photo is allowed, and it is not to be unofficially duplicated and redistributed, under penalty of law upon violation of that rule. I will remain aloft in the air for seven minutes, so make sure your shot's a good one. If you want to return to the ground sooner, let me know. Also, take note that I will not be able to speak while I am up that high in the sky, as I must secure my oxygen mask tightly so it doesn't disattach as I fly. I'm allergic to the thinner oxygen of high altitudes; it makes my throat close up, cutting off my respiratory system, and if I faint because of that, we all will crash. And now, we're off!" Flygon flapped his wings and took to the sky, affixing his oxygen mask to his face on the way. Within a minute, he had reached the appropriate altitude for his passengers to get a good view of the sunset. Pugno got out his camera and took the best picture he could manage.

"Perfect," he proudly said. "Hey Flygon. Let's wait out the seven minutes. I'd like to take this in."

"Me, too," Pelame agreed. "After all, this _is_ a perfect view."

"Those two friends of yours certainly will be jealous when you tell them what they missed," Wangrey said, giggling. Her laughter stopped when she caught sight of something going on down on the ground. "Wait… aren't those your friends down there?" She pointed downward to the southeastern direction of where they currently were. Pelame and Pugno looked there, too. Pugno grabbed the on-board binoculars and looked through them. He caught sight of Scyther loading Blessing and Torden into the back of a truck.

"Flygon! Land us near that truck!" he commanded frantically.

Flygon shook his head in refusal.

"Land us on the ground, then!"

That was an order Flygon could accept.

"But Pugno, there's no way we can catch that truck if it's leaving by now!" Pelame said.

"I believe that's everyone," Flygon said after removing his oxygen mask. "Thanks for taking part in the tour, everyone, and have a nice day!" The crowd dispersed after that announcement, excited for the final day.

"Flygon, you need to follow that truck!" Pelame begged. "You're the only one who can catch up to it! Please!"

"With all due respect, little girl, why should I?"

"Two of my friends have been abducted by the drivers of that truck! We can't catch up on foot!"

"Then call the police on them. It's not my problem."

"I can make it worth your while," Wangrey said.

"How?"

"I'm very rich. I can pay you many times the money you made on this job. And correct me if I'm wrong, but as this is a seasonal job, and as you're a one-time convict, your job just ended minutes ago, right? Well, I can solve whatever financial woes you may run into for quite a while."

"Well, that _does_ interest me. But how do I know you're not trying to swindle me into being a free courier?"

"Take a look." Wangrey whipped out a large sum of Pokéns. "Five million Pokéns, just for you, but only if you take my friends to chase that truck."

Pelame, Pugno, and Flygon were stunned to hear the amount she just announced. Their tourist friend had been rich all along?

"Wangrey, where'd you get that much money?!" Pelame asked.

"From Shizazoto's treasury," Wangrey answered. "Being the daughter of Emperor Kentahito has its privileges, although I meant to spend it on travel to the other countries. But I don't want those rambunctious friends of yours—"

"Wait, did you just say you're Emperor Kentahito's daughter?"

"Yes. My name is—"

Pelame felt disappointed in herself. "Jurihito! Oh, goodness, how did I not recognize you?! I know so many things about your home country! I'd love to hear from you about it all!"

"Some other time, maybe. Now, you need to rescue your friends! Here, Flygon, your payment."

Flygon happily accepted the money. He lowered himself to the ground to let his passengers climb on. Pelame and Pugno did so.

"Thanks, Wangrey—or, actually, Jurihito… your highness," Pelame said with great happiness. "I'll never forget this."

"You can just call me Juri," Juri said modestly. "Maybe we'll meet again one day. Now go! Your friends need you!"

"Ready, kids?" Flygon impatiently asked. Pelame and Pugno nodded. They waved goodbye to Juri as the greedy salamence took off. "Now, let me know which truck it is. And remember, I need to keep my mask on, or my allergies will make my throat swell up and asphyxiate me, so I won't be able to speak to you." He then put his oxygen mask on, tightening it to form an airtight seal around his face.

"There it is!" Pugno cried. "Down there, ten o'clock!"

Flygon nodded and set off to pursue.

* * *

Blessing and Torden had just regained consciousness in the back of Team Static's truck. They immediately discovered, to their fear and annoyance, that they weren't able to move. Their dreadful feeling grew when they found out that they couldn't talk, either. Blessing immediately started struggling against the ropes binding her hands and feet together, as opposed to Torden, who immediately accepted the fact that he couldn't move nor speak. Blessing wasn't so quick to give up. She mentally reassured herself that she wasn't bound by Paras as well as she'd been bound by Pugno on the last Genesis Day. Therefore, it was worth struggling against these bonds, since they'd break at some point.

In the main vehicle, Snivy caught sight of someone in the rear view mirror.

"Sir, there's a salamence in the sky following us," she notified in an indifferent tone, still sour about being demoted to navigator.

Paras and Scyther looked out the passenger window and up into the sky.

"I warned her to stay out of our business," Paras said in irritation. "Scyther, see to them. Wynaut, keep driving."

"Yes, sir," Scyther answered, flying up after the pursuer. Once he matched Flygon's altitude, he launched an Air Slash at the three pursuers. Flygon swerved out of the way, but unfortunately not in time to keep it from slicing the hose connecting his oxygen mask to his on-board oxygen tank. He had to make an immediate landing before he breathed in. Luckily, he was in range to land on the truck's trailer. He was now free to remove his mask, as he was at an altitude that was safe to breathe. Being able to open his mouth meant he was able to use his Flamethrower attack to retaliate against Scyther. Scyther couldn't take it; he was down in one hit. Just as he was to land on the truck, a mysterious force caught him.

"Didn't I tell you, Pelame?" Paras asked as he climbed onto the trailer. "About the power I gained from the mine? And didn't I also tell you to stay out of my way?" He shook his head in disappointment. "You disobeyed me."

Flygon launched another Flamethrower, but Paras used his strange new ability to shield himself from it. He then launched a Seed Bomb directly into Flygon's mouth. Taking the opportunity he just gave himself, he launched a Stun Spore, paralyzing the three pursuers.

"Wynaut, pull the truck over into that rest area," Paras ordered. He turned his attention back to the three pursuers as the truck pulled over and parked in an out-of-sight corner of the rest stop. "Pelame, you are really trying my patience. Your two accomplices are also ticking me off. I won't take any chances with you three, although I won't go so far as to take your lives. I don't like killing anyone. But I won't just let you go free. You're coming with us." He created an energy shield to scoop up Pelame, Pugno, and Flygon. "Open the trailer. I'm putting these three with the other two." Wynaut did as told, pressing a switch on the driver's panel to open the trailer's door. Paras then loaded the three extra prisoners into the trailer, following them inside as he did so, so as to tie them up and silence them just as he did earlier with Blessing and Torden. He took a moment to redo Blessing's bindings after noticing that she'd nearly wriggled out of them, and then another moment to confiscate the money Flygon was holding.

"Enjoy the ride," Paras taunted as he left the trailer, closing its door behind him. The truck then re-entered the highway.

It really didn't please Blessing to have had her efforts undone. After about five more minutes of trying again, she stopped trying to break out. She had used up a large share of her stamina on her first nearly successful try, but now, she needed to rest. Maybe she'd try again in half an hour. After all, it would take about five or so more hours to reach Llyria County. But while she was resting, she noticed something she hadn't before. She would have slapped herself in the head if she could for forgetting that Paras hadn't placed PP-Zero Bracelets on her. All this time, and she was able to use her Moves.

_"__Okay. Here's hoping this works…"_ Blessing thought to herself as she prepared to put her plan to the test. Behind the tape holding her mouth shut, she tried opening her mouth. As soon as she felt her mouth open just a little bit, she let out a small Ice Beam through it, freezing the tape solid. She then hobbled over to Torden and gestured toward his tail. Torden didn't understand what she was asking for.

"MMMVV MMRN MMG MMN MM MMMPH, MMF FMMMGMM MMPHMMGNMM!" she finally shouted after about three attempts to try to explain. Unfortunately, Torden still didn't get it. In frustration, Blessing started pounding the frozen tape against the floor, taking care not to be too loud in doing so. After seven strikes, the tape finally broke, freeing her mouth. She then aimed another Ice Beam binding her hands and feet together.

"Now, Torden, use your Iron Tail to break these icy ropes," she commanded. "Like I was trying to tell you to do with the icy tape on my mouth, you fat brainrot!"

Finally getting the idea, Torden turned his tail into iron and broke the icy ropes with a carefully-aimed swing.

"_That's_ better, Torden!" she complimented. She quickly sliced the ropes and peeled the tape off of everyone else, freeing them.

"Thanks, Blessing," Pelame said in relief.

"No problem, Pelame," Blessing responded. "I've gotten out of tighter binds than that in jail."

"Yet you couldn't escape when I captured you last Genesis Day," Pugno chided.

"Well, I'd never been bound that way before. I could've figured out a way to escape. If anything, the first one to escape should've been Flygon, being as he's the most physically powerful one here."

"I was paralyzed!" Flygon responded. "Well, it wore off, but still."

"So, what now?" Pugno asked. "Should we look for a way out of this truck?"

"Actually, I've got an idea," Pelame interjected. "Why don't we stay here? That way, we can ambush them once we arrive."

"Good idea, Pelame," Blessing complimented. "That'll work out perfectly. We'll get to break into their current HQ. I overheard them saying they're dropping by there to pick some stuff up."

"Then, we can stop them once and for all, in that case!"

"Looks like it! Wow, Pelame. What you lack in strength, you really make up for in intelligence."

"Aww, thanks." Pelame couldn't help but blush. "…so, what do we do until we get there?"

That was a good question. The five stowaways had no idea how they would pass the remaining four-and-a-half hours until they got to Lake Llyria. Then, Pugno remembered a bit of advice Aramir had given him.

"Hey, Torden? There's something I wanted to ask you about," he said. "I understand if you don't want to, but do you mind telling me why you have such harsh feelings about your father?"

"Oh, _now_ you want to know?" Torden replied. "Mister 'always respect your family' is finally going to lend an ear to me?"

"Torden, I promise I'll listen to everything you have to say before I react."

"Me, too," Pelame offered.

"Well, I have nothing better to do," Flygon added. "Go ahead and tell your 'my dad sucks' story. Not like I haven't heard millions of _those_ in jail."

Torden took a deep breath and then told everything.

"My dad's name is Demetrius, and he wasn't always such a scumbag. Not to me, anyway. It started when he saw me writing with my left hand. He grew up in a time where that was considered a bad thing that leads to the 'demiri— dilter—"

"Deterioration?" Pugno corrected.

"Yeah, that. The 'deterioration of written language.' That's what he said when he saw me writing with my left. I only did it because I naturally am left-handed. But he wouldn't listen when I told him that, and he made me learn to write with my right. He put a ball-glove on my left hand to make sure I was sticking to his forbidding of my left hand. Eventually, I learned to write with my right, but it never looked as good as when I wrote with my left. And when it was time for me to go to school, he made sure to send me somewhere that would keep me writing with my right. And he also made sure it was a place Shinies weren't allowed. He never liked Shinies, going so far as to use that dreadful 'blinder' slur."

Pugno was already regretting the harsh treatment he gave to Torden for his harsh views on his father. He was hanging on Torden's every word, every one of which made him sadder.

"That school was a dreadful, miserable place. But it was still better than my home life. I always liked my mother better, and I always wanted her to stand up to dad. He treated her like an object. All she was to him was a maid. And she never did anything about it. She never even tried to interject whenever dad was physically punishing me. But whenever dad wasn't home, she'd console me. She was just about my only friend until I came to Llyria. Oh, and before that, I met a nice Rattata, but dad forbade me from seeing her again just because she was Shiny. It's a miracle dad even let me come to Llyria. I think he thought they'd actually listen to his ridiculous requests. If they did, I wouldn't be allowed in classes with girls or Shiny Pokémon. In fact, the first time I disobeyed him was when I signed up for Professor Adorbs's Psychology class. I'm thinking he wanted me to stay away from her so that I wouldn't 'become an affront to society.'"

"She did mention someone named Demetrius when I last saw her," Pelame said.

"Anyway, that's why I don't feel so good with seeing him again during Parent-Teacher Conference Week. But if I have to, then I'm finally going to tell him everything. He's asked for it, considering that he's actually bothering to show up this time. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I think he let me come to Llyria Academy because it would keep me out of his life for a few years."

"Well, Torden, I don't think it'll be a good idea to tell him off," Pugno said. "I mean, not that you don't have the right to, but why not try making up with him first? Who knows? Maybe time changed him, too."

"It won't work. Reason is beyond him."

"There's no point in not trying," Pelame said. "Is it really worth it to remain angry at him for the rest of your life? Torden, I think it would be good if you tried Pugno's suggestion first."

"I don't know…"

"You might not get another chance," Blessing added. "Look, I know your childhood before Llyria was awful, but at least you had someone taking care of you. Two Pokémon, actually. That's already more than what could be said of me, someone whose parents ditched her as soon as she was able to fend for herself. That means there's a part of him that does love you, Torden. So why not try to find it?"

* * *

None of the stowaways knew it, but Snivy had been eavesdropping on this conversation from the back of the truck. She'd found a spot that allowed her to hear inside the trailer. That last spiel from Blessing seemed like it struck a chord with her.

_"__Her parents were just like mine,"_ she thought.

* * *

"All right, fine! I'll try. But I don't know if it'll do any good," Torden finally relented, to the approval of his friends.

"So, anyone else got anything to tell?" Flygon asked, eager to keep the noise going.

No one answered. It seemed like it would be a silent ride for the rest of the way.

* * *

After four more hours, the truck reached its destination. The five stowaways hid as best they could (Flygon had it hardest in that department). As soon as the trailer opened, they got ready. Once they saw that it was Paras, Flygon unleashed a Flamethrower. Torden followed with a Thunderbolt, Blessing followed with an Ice Beam, and Pugno followed that with a Cross Chop. And finally, Pelame finished with a Quick Attack. Paras was down.

"Wow. Good thing we got him before he could Stun Spore us," Pelame said. "All right, the rest of them shouldn't be much trouble."

The five left the truck, bumping into the other three Team Static members.

"Want to try us, too?" Blessing taunted. She turned around, baring her rear end. "Take your best shot!"

"Gladly, hussy!" Scyther retorted. "No more Mister-Nice-Guy!" He launched a Vacuum Wave, aiming at the whole group. They dodged, allowing the attack to destroy a lot of their supplies packed in the truck.

"Nice shot, stupid!" Blessing then came at Scyther with an Ice Punch, taking him down. "Want some of this, Snivy, you little soapboxing—"

"Wynaut, cover me!" Snivy ordered. As Wynaut followed her order, she engaged Blessing in battle, dodging an incoming Ice Punch and countering with an Iron Tail. Pugno tried backing her up by launching an Aura Sphere at the Team Static spokesgirl. Wynaut used his Mirror Coat to reflect the shot. As he did that, Flygon came forth and connected with a Dragon Tail attack. In one shot, Wynaut went down. Now, only Snivy was left. But she was quickly dealt with by Flygon's Flamethrower.

"Yep, I'm the greatest!" he gloated. "Now then, to get my money back!" He went to the driver's side of the truck and claimed his stolen money. "Got it! Now, I'm off!"

"Wait, Flygon!" Pelame said. "Why not help us defeat Team Static once and for all?"

"No way! I've been in enough trouble today! Besides, I was paid to help you _chase_ them, not _defeat_ them. So, off I go!" Flygon then went to the exit of the hideout, flying off for parts unknown, five million Pokéns richer.

"What a jerk!"

"Yeah, I've known him to be that way, unfortunately," Blessing said. "Come on, we can take Team Static down ourselves." Seeing Blessing's point, the group continued inward. "And let's try to be out of here before Paras gets back up. We don't stand a chance against him without the element of surprise."

After a bit of legwork, the four friends reached an important room. Most of it consisted of a giant supercomputer. Torden immediately got to work on it.

"Hey, what's this?" he asked upon discovering something important. "It says 'Operation Everstone.' Wait, isn't that…?"

"The Llyria Rocket!" Blessing cried. "Simpson and a few of her friends from the Science Scholarship were helping Henry work on it! What does Team Static need it for?"

"I don't know, but I can look." So Torden searched the database, but he found nothing. "But look what I _did_ find! Apparently, they have a secret path to Llyria Academy campus from here."

"Yep. I made that passage myself!" Scyther called from the room's entrance. "And Paras and Wynaut are on their way to Llyria Academy right now!"

"And better still, all the data from this computer has already been backed up!" Snivy taunted. "It's with them now, so I can do this!" Snivy then smashed the motherboard with her Iron Tail. "Good luck digging up any more data now! Even your precious Professor Henry will be unable to retrieve anything from this!"

"As for you four, you're staying right here!" Scyther then brandished the bazooka he had over his shoulder. Snivy placed a gas mask on herself and another one on Scyther. With the blunt edge of his sword arm, he pulled a string connected to its trigger.

"Watch it! That's a Pester Ball!" Blessing warned. It was too late to get away from it before it released its gas. The four trespassers were instantly paralyzed.

"They filled it with Stun Spore!" Torden said.

"So long! I'll give Bibli your best regards for you, Pelame!" Snivy taunted. She pressed a button on the doorway and then left with Scyther. A blast door came crashing down, trapping the four intruders inside.

"No! Come back here!" Pelame demanded, trying to move. "Stay away from the school!"

* * *

"Once again, you lose, Henry," Euclid smugly gloated, having won another late-night game of _Dodrio Talon Trot_ against Henry.

"Best three out of five, or it doesn't count!" Henry contested.

"Well, okay, I'll be happy to stomp you again."

The two rivals got back to their game. Elsewhere…

Professor Bibli had found that more writing had appeared on a page that was once blank.

"'The Alpha Bloodline is hope and happiness. The Dark Blessing is despair and sorrow,'" he read aloud to himself.

"Despair and sorrow, you say?" Paras said, entering Bibli's office. "Yes, those are powerful feelings. I feel sorrow for the fact that Pokémon insist on evolving, despite everything harmful about it. But I cannot bring myself to despair over it. You see…" Paras got ready to launch a Stun Spore at Bibli, but his attack was predicted. Paras then unleashed an Aerial Ace, scoring a direct hit.

"…I will soon erase evolution from the world. And my Dark Blessing will help me do that. Let me show you what it does for me." Paras quickly created an energy shield to block Bibli's Psybeam attack. A dark aura then came out of his back and formed small insect wings. They vibrated to create a harmful sound wave, as if imitating a Bug Buzz.

"Yes, I do know that my kind can't normally know that move," Paras continued. "But I have the Dark Blessing coursing through me. If it can grant me access to a share of moves I can't normally know, just imagine what else I can do with it. With its help, I might even be able to discover a way to reverse evolution." He then landed a Stun Spore on the History Professor.

"So I hope you understand why I can't allow any opposition to my goals, because I know what the general thought of my Team is by now."

"Why _shouldn't_ they think so lowly of you cretins?!" Bibli demanded. "One of your members attempted to take my top student's life!"

"Yes, I agree Scyther overstepped his bounds that time. However, Pelame has been vindicating him more and more lately. She's out of our way for now, and so are her friends. But should they show up once again and get in our way, I will no longer guarantee their survival. As for you and the Academy staff, their lives will not be taken. But I wouldn't advise you to tempt me…"

* * *

A large portion of the Academy's students were still awake at the late time of 11:15PM, making the most of the break. Simpson, hardworking wartortle she was, had no desire to waste time that she felt could be better spent resting up. But the ruckus coming from all the dorms surrounding hers was not what woke her up. Her dorm was loudly broken into by Scyther, who pelted her with a Pester Ball loaded with Stun Spore. He then tied her up and stuffed her into a bag, dragging her out along with lots of other bags full of the other students. After a few trips, he loaded them into a stolen security truck and drove to the Technology Center. He made his drop off, and then went to the other dorms to claim the other students. He passed Wynaut on the way, who had just arrived with the rest of the teachers. A few minutes later, Scyther returned with the last batch of students. After a few more trips, all the students and staff were dropped off in the Technology Center's Broadcast Building. Scyther removed each of the bags.

"You're not gonna get away with this!" Coin said as soon as he was unbagged. "Let us go, or else!"

"Be quiet, lucky unevolved one…" Paras said, entering the room. As he said that, threads made of dark energy clamped his mouth shut. Coin made eye contact with the boss of Team Static, shouting something at him. The other students naturally assumed that they would have heard an expletive term if Coin wasn't currently gagged. "Please do not speak to me out of turn, or you'll end up just like that impulsive meowth right there. Now then, I have an announcement to make to the entire county. Henry, please instruct me on how I can do that."

"Go slice your mushrooms off, you terrorist wannabe!" Henry retorted, firing off a Thunderbolt. Paras blocked it with a dark energy shield. From the other end of the room, a scream was heard. Everyone turned to face the back, seeing that Scyther had his left sword arm to the neck of a young vulpix.

"Don't you hurt Sixtales, you brute!" Professor Snapper cried. For that, she was immediately silenced by the dark threads.

"I met Bibli earlier today and detained him," Paras continued. "And I told him that it would be best not to tempt me to do something violent. And that is exactly what you're doing right now, Henry. So, for Sixtales's own good, as well as everyone in here, instruct me on how to broadcast to every device in the entire Llyria County."

With great regret and anger, Henry did so. "That knob right there is to adjust the signal strength. And the buttons next to it control what devices the signal will broadcast to." As Henry told him that, Paras pressed all of them. With this, his signal would broadcast over television, radio, and computer. "Then you just press the 'on air' button in front of the microphone. That will start your stupid broadcast. Press it again when you're done. There, happy now?! Now release us!"

"In due time, Henry. Thanks for your help." Paras then placed a giant energy shield between his team and the captives, fortifying it to even keep sound from coming through it. He then pressed the "on air" button and spoke his message.

* * *

Back in the old Team Static hideout, the Stun Spore had finally worn off. Pelame, Pugno, Blessing, and Torden quickly located the tunnel after powering their way past the blast door. The tunnel had tracks going down it, with a control panel on the frame of the doorway. Torden pressed the button that would call the cart back. While they were waiting, they could hear a broadcast message coming from the Lake Resort above them.

"Greetings, Llyria County. My name is Paras, and I am the leader of Team Static. Close to three years ago, I started this group in hopes of educating the general populace of something terrible that all of Pocketurn has suffered for its entire history. My team has discovered a way to put a stop to it, and I hope one day to be able to reverse it. Although it is true that my team started out kind and charitable, it has become clear to me that the world doesn't listen to that anymore. Only force and fear is paid any attention, which is why I am claiming Llyria Academy as exclusive property of Team Static. But let me assure you now that no matter what I do, I cannot possibly be as harmful as evolution. That is the terrible affliction I mentioned earlier. Many Pokémon have suffered as a result of evolving. So I sought to put a stop to it. However, I found that many Pokémon embraced it, not caring what would happen to them. That kind of thinking is self-damaging; it's practically suicide! I assure all of you that what I intend to do is to save all of you. The world will soon be rid of evolution, and you will all be better for it. This concludes my announcement."

Just as Paras concluded his announcement, the cart arrived. Pelame and her friends quickly climbed in and put it in gear to go to the Academy. Within ten minutes, they arrived.

"The Broadcast Building can send out broadcast signals that reach everywhere in the county," Torden said. "Paras definitely has to be there."

"But we heard that broadcast ten minutes ago," Pugno reminded. "Will he still be there?"

"It's all we have to go on," Pelame added. "Let's get going."

The four went over to the Technology Center as quickly as they could. They found a security truck parked in front of it. There were scratch marks on the steering wheel.

"Scyther can drive?" Blessing asked in disbelief. She didn't let herself be distracted for too long. She followed her friends inside the building. They hid for a brief bit while Scyther, Snivy, and Wynaut ran by. Torden led the way to the broadcast room. They could hear Paras from the other side.

"…you will still be allowed to have classes here. All that's changed is that I have taken Kudzu's place as the headmaster."

"Bug off!" one of the students shouted. "I'll never accept a thug like you as my headmaster!" Pelame recognized the voice as belonging to Kasumi, a totodile who was her favorite classmate from history class.

"Me neither!" another student added. "Kudzu is my headmaster!" Pugno recognized that voice as his favorite classmate from combat class, a chimchar named Weston. "You're lucky my friend Pugno isn't here! He'd destroy you!"

"Oh, I saw to him already," Paras responded. "and Pelame, Blessing, and Torden, too. They're locked up in my old hideout beneath the lake. They'll never be found down there."

"Is that so?" Blessing taunted as she and Pugno broke the door down. "Maybe you shouldn't have made it so easy to catch up to you!" Pugno then tossed an Aura Sphere at Paras, hitting him directly. Torden and Pelame got to work untying everyone, as Pugno later joined them to help. Try as he might, he couldn't undo the threads holding Coin and Snapper's mouths shut.

"Torden, stop that!" Pelame said. "The threads are getting tighter!"

"They are?!" Torden asked for clarification. Suddenly, Torden's mouth got clamped shut by the threads. His body then got wrapped in a cocoon by even more threads. Another batch of threads attached themselves around Pelame's neck.

"Enough is enough!" Paras seethed. "I warned you to stay out of my way, but not once have you listened to me. Well, you're out of chances now! So now, I will make examples out of you, so as to show what happens when someone opposes me this often!"

Paras then strung the dark thread over a sprinkler in the ceiling and hoisted Pelame up by her neck. Her air was instantly cut off as the threads painfully cut into her neck. As everyone in the room was still paralyzed by Stun Spore, Paras would not be disturbed while he attempted to hang his enemy to death. No amount of struggling had any effect. Pugno couldn't even help his best friend out of her predicament, being unable to break the dark thread. Pelame was beginning to faint from lack of oxygen. With her last ounce of strength, she made a last desperate attempt to free herself. She reached up to the sprinkler to grab a bit of the thread draped to it. She then pulled herself to it and bit down on it. Somehow, that worked. She fell down to the ground, free from the threads asphyxiating her.

"Wait… how?!" Paras said in disbelief and fear. "Those threads can't be broken by anyone but me! Wait…you can't be…are you an Alpha?!"

"I don't know, Paras," Pelame responded. "But you have gone way too far this time!" She charged Paras with a Quick Attack and then followed with an Iron Tail. With the Team Static leader down for the moment, Pelame took that chance to undo the threads gagging Snapper, Coin, and binding Torden. Paras got back up.

"So what if you're an Alpha?!" he snapped. "Team Static won't be stopped by the likes of you! I really would like to see you meddlers dead for all you've done to me, but I know a losing battle when I see one! I may have lost control over the Academy, but I got what I came here for! See you next time!" With that, he set off a hidden flashbang and took off running while everyone was temporarily blinded.

"Wow, that was close," Pugno said, just as his vision (and everyone else's) came back. "That was great, Pelame! You've sure gotten strong!"

"Yeah, that was great!" Torden added. "I thought you were a goner! I saw it all through the threads."

"I just didn't want to get killed," Pelame explained. "And I didn't want you all to die, either. I knew Paras wouldn't stop at killing me. I know he's crazy enough to make attempts on lives at this point. I had to do something to stop him. Something just came over me—I don't know what it was, but I felt so powerful at that moment I attacked him."

"Then he may be right," Bibli said. "You just might be an Alpha." Upon taking a close look at Pelame, he was surprised. "No doubt about it; you _are_ an Alpha! Look there!" He pointed at Pelame's chest. When she looked down, she saw bits of golden yellow. She moved that patch of her neck fur out of the way. When she did, she saw a golden yellow-colored sigil shaped like a wheel of some sort. "That's Arceus's wheel! The Alpha Sigil!"

"That was never there before!" Pelame said. "Did it just appear now?"

"We should go to my office. We need to investigate this."

The Pokémon who hadn't yet left now did along with Pelame, Pugno, and Torden.

"Hey, where'd Blessing go?" Torden asked as they went through the building's front door. As soon as they got outside, they saw Professor Tectarro and Professor Euclid standing there, looking panicked.

"I overheard your question, Torden," Euclid said. "I'm afraid Blessing has been abducted by Team Static. But that isn't all they took—"

"It's gone!" Tectarro cried. "The Llyria Rocket has been stolen!"

* * *

Blessing's struggling accomplished nothing. In fact, the threads kept getting tighter the more she struggled against them. The Aspear Scarf tied tightly over her mouth kept her from using Ice Team to escape Paras's clutches. Soon, he got to the old hideout. He found Wynaut and Snivy waiting there for him.

"Scyther is on his way with the Llyria Rocket, sir," Snivy told him. "I see you managed to capture one of our most consistent meddlers. How did things go after we were sent out?"

"Unfortunately, I lost control of the Academy," Paras admitted with shame in his voice. "Apparently, Pelame's an Alpha now, which means she stands a chance against me. My Dark Blessing warned me about Alphas. But at least it isn't a total loss. I'm still stronger. Plus, with this one, I can send her a message. After all, Pelame values life. She won't come after us anymore if she knows that I'm willing to do away with this one if she does. Wynaut!"

"Yes, sir?" Wynaut asked.

"Implant an Everstone into this one."

Blessing felt a surge of fear once she heard that order. She shook her head, seemingly begging to be spared such a fate.

"Gladly, sir. I've been wanting to for a while…"

The truck then pulled up. The other members got in, while Wynaut took Blessing to the back. Paras knocked her out with a small Spore spray and undid the threads, opting to tie her up with regular ropes while Wynaut got to work on her. It would be cramped, as most of the space in the trailer was taken up by the rocket. But Wynaut could make do with that. The truck then pulled out seconds before Torden, Pugno, and Professor Adorbs reached the old hideout. There was no hope of rescuing Blessing at this point, so the three discouraged Pokémon turned back.

* * *

On the Academy campus, Pelame went with Bibli to his office while the others went to their residences. Pugno, Torden, and Adorbs went to notify the police about the events that had just transpired.

"Just before Team Static attacked the campus, I found this had happened," Bibli explained, showing Pelame the paper he had read before. "It used to be blank, but now there are words on it. And it looks like even more have appeared since I last looked."

"'The Alpha Bloodline is hope and happiness. The Dark Blessing is despair and sorrow,'" Pelame read aloud. "'Alpha power lies dormant in the bloodline of the Pokémon who was first blessed with a share of this noble power. It awakens in response to a threat from its opposite number, the Dark Blessing. The Dark Blessing is a corruptive substance created by an evil resident of the Immortal Realm. As both of these powers are of Immortal origin, they are the only forces that can hope to stand up to one another in combat.' And that's all it says—wait, so, does that mean I'm part Immortal? Or would that mean I'm related to one of the world leaders? They're Alphas, too, after all."

"I can't be certain of either guess. However, from that explanation, it seems Paras unintentionally caused your Alpha power to awaken. His attempt on your life caused you to act to rescue yourself, as he was unable to act."

"Then, I guess this means it's up to me to stop Paras…" Pelame didn't sound thrilled. One moment, she was a student of Llyria Academy. And now, she suddenly became some sort of destined one. It was a lot to accept. "…I can't believe this is happening to me…I mean, I really do want to stop him, but…can I really…?"

"I can't say for certain, Pelame. But just know that if you do decide to go after him, you won't do it alone. You have lots of support, not just from me, but also from your friends. And as next week is Parent-Teacher Conference Week, I'm sure your parents will be glad to help if you ask, and if they arrive during this conflict. And like I said before, I'll help out, too."

Pelame couldn't help but feel much better after hearing that. She smiled at her favorite professor and said, "Thank you. I sure could use it."


	9. Team Static's Preparations

Chapter 9 – Team Static's Preparations

* * *

Blessing awakened inside a cell of some sort. She felt restrained, courtesy of the ropes binding her. The Aspear Scarf was still tied over her mouth. A little struggle caused the bindings to tighten, which led her to deduce that there was a dark thread under the ropes. Luckily, there weren't any on her mouth, though the scarf wasn't letting her say a word. And nor was the tape under it.

"Ah, I thought you'd never wake up," Snivy said. "Yep, as usual, I get the boring job. While the men get to do the exciting stuff, I'm stuck here guarding your cell. Sometimes, I hate working for the team."

Though Blessing was currently gagged, there was no mistaking that she was currently laughing.

"Yeah, laugh it up. At least the team will be amounting to something. In the end, it's going to be all worth it. Besides…" Snivy then grabbed a small handgun off the wall. "Paras has an idea about how to keep anyone from stopping the team. If Pelame or anyone comes after us, I am to kill you with this. You weren't awake when he sent out that video."

Blessing couldn't help but feel a strong surge of fear when she heard that.

"You know, a part of me is surprised Paras is giving me such a huge job, considering the grunt work I've been assigned lately. I mean, if he really wants you dead, he'd cap you himself. Oh well. Que sera sera, as the old axiom goes."

* * *

Everyone in Llyria County tuned into the news, which has showing a special report concerning Team Static.

"Attention all Pokémon of Llyria County, and the whole world, if this tape has reached international news," Paras said. "I am Paras, the leader of Team Static. I strive to purge evolution from the world. And with the help of the Llyria Rocket, I will do just that. I have located a small mine full of Everstones, and I've harvested a large amount of them. I will be loading the rocket full of ground-up Everstone powder, and it will release it into the atmosphere. At that point, Evolution will finally cease to be. Now, onto another important matter…" He moved aside to reveal an unconscious Blessing. He rubbed his back in slight pain. "Pelame, I now speak directly to you, and those like you who have the tendency to be annoying thorns in my side. I will know if I am followed. I know you know where my mine is, Pelame. If I find that I am being opposed once again, I will see to the end of this meddler's life. I will return her only if Operation Everstone succeeds without a hitch. That concludes my message. Stay out of my way."

Just when Pelame was thinking she'd had a chance at stopping Team Static, this threat happened, crushing her hopes.

"No…" Pelame sulked. "He wouldn't…"

"Wait, did he say you know where that mine is?" Tectarro asked. "There are lots of Everstone mines, after all."

"It's in Pathway Town. Not that it matters, though…"

"Wait… Pathway Town?!" Tectarro seemed very tense all of a sudden. "I knew Paras was crazy, but to harvest _those_ Everstones takes a special kind of insanity."

"Why? What's so bad about those Everstones?"

"They have Pyrite and Fluorite in them, unlike literally every other Everstone in the world. They're not harmful when intact, but when broken open, they become exposed to oxygen. Once that happens, a Pokémon could end up suffering arsenic poisoning and skeletal fluorosis. The former can cause problems like diarrhea and convulsions in best case scenarios, and a coma and even death in worst case scenarios. The latter causes the skeleton to suffer sporadic fits of pain and can even cause osteosclerosis in the spine."

"But then, if he releases that rocket…"

"Yep. He's going to get rid of Evolution, and cause arsenic poisoning and skeletal fluorosis, all in one rocket launch."

Without another word, Pelame was off to the police station. Tectarro followed.

* * *

Though Blessing couldn't struggle against the ropes binding her body, she still attempted to remove the items forcing her mouth shut. Snivy was in the room, listening to the hostage's struggling and muffled grunting. This served as no distraction from her balancing the Team Static budget. Even dignifying the hostage with a response wouldn't ruin her concentration.

"You know, I'm almost interested in what it is you have to say," Snivy taunted without turning around. "Emphasis is on the 'almost.'"

It seemed clear that Blessing was getting absolutely nowhere. She then thought she'd make some noise by bashing her Iron Tail against the bars of the cell. With the most meticulous of efforts, she managed to get herself to stand up. After that, she aligned herself so that her tail feathers were near the bars. But when she tried to turn her tail feathers into iron, nothing happened.

_"__Seems like they slapped a PP-Zero Bracelet on me under these ropes,"_ Blessing thought to herself. _"They've thought of everything…"_

Seeing no further point in struggling, she sat back down. When she did, she felt a lump on her rump. She glanced down toward there and saw there was a surgery scar to the lower left of her tail feathers. As she feared, she had been implanted with an Everstone, keeping her from evolving.

_"__Wow, Wynaut,"_ she thought to herself. _"Felt mischievous, did you? Well, at least he put it _in_ my butt rather than _up_ it. Sure is gonna be uncomfortable sitting on the left side of it for a while."_

Suddenly, the phone next to Snivy rang.

"Hello?" she answered. "Oh, hello, sir."

Blessing could only overhear one side of the conversation.

"Yes, she's still here. We aren't being followed. I think our enemies got your message." Then, Snivy's mood dropped. "Yes, sir. I'll keep watch over her while you and the guys are out. Good luck…" She then hung up the phone and turned to face Blessing. "Well, once again, we're alone. Because apparently I can't be trusted to go along with the guys when they do the most important things! Seriously!" In anger, Snivy took the gun off the wall and tossed it across the room. "It's like I'm not even part of Team Static!"

_"__Wait, is that gun empty?!"_ Blessing thought upon noticing the gun didn't misfire when thrown.

"Maybe after Operation Everstone succeeds, I'll _finally_ get some respect again…"

* * *

"Chief Jolly, have you gotten through yet?!" Professor Adorbs frantically asked of the wigglytuff police chief.

"I'm trying to reach them now," Jolly answered, dialing a number into the phone. "They haven't answered yet, and I've tried seven times now to contact them. But if they do answer, the number's location can be traced, and we can find where your daughter's being held."

"I know exactly where they're holding her," Pelame said, entering the station. "They're in Pathway Town. There's an Everstone mine there. Please, you have to get through to Team Static. There's something important he needs to know."

"All right. I'll contact the police in Pathway Town and let them know about this. And I'll also tell them to keep their threat in mind—"

At that moment, the station's phone rang. Chief Jolly immediately answered it.

"Llyria Police. How can I assist you? … Oh, hello. You're the leader of Team Static, I presume?"

At that, Adorbs yanked the phone out of Jolly's hands. Pelame went to go find a phone for four-legged Pokémon to use.

"Paras, return my daughter to me immediately if you know what's good for you!" she threatened.

"Not a chance, Adorbs," Paras curtly responded. "In fact, Pokémon like you are the ones who don't know a thing about what's good for _them_. Operation Everstone is going to solve that problem once and for all."

"No, Operation Everstone won't accomplish anything but prove to the world how crazy you are!"

Then the two suddenly heard Pelame on the other line.

"Paras, you have to listen to me!" she pleaded. "You have to call Operation Everstone off right now! You don't know what it's gonna do to everyone!"

"Pelame, you naïve evolution-loving shill…" Paras said in a condescending tone. "I know better than anyone what it's going to do."

"No, Paras, you don't! Do you even know what's _in_ those Everstones you've mined?!"

"Everite, of course! You mean to tell me you _didn't_ know—"

"There's more in it than that! There's pyrite and fluorite, too! If you launch that rocket, you'll poison everyone! You won't be 'saving them from evolving!' Please call your plan off if you know what's good for everyone, including your own teammates!"

"She's right, Paras!" Tectarro said from another line. "I used to be a miner there! I suffered the consequences for it! It took years for the back pain to go away!"

For a moment, Paras was silent. After those few seconds, he gave his response.

"Well, I never expected this…"

Pelame, Adorbs, and Tectarro felt a surge of hopeful excitement at what Paras would say next.

"I've never heard a more desperate attempt to get me to call my plan off!"

Their hopes were instantly crushed.

"You've gotten desperate, Pelame, even going so far as to get a few of your professors to repeat your lie! Did you think you'd actually convince me?!" Paras couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh. For a moment, he strained his back and had to rub it to ease the pain.

"Paras, I'm not lying!" Pelame cried. "Don't do this! I'm begging you!"

"That's enough out of you, Pelame! Mark my words, if I ever hear of you again, Blessing's life will end! So be it!" Paras then hung the phone up.

* * *

Paras left the call box after finishing his conversation. Scyther and Wynaut were waiting for him outside.

"Boys, get a load of this," he told his underlings. "Pelame tried to get me to call off Operation Everstone with the most pathetic lie I've ever heard."

"Heh, wow. That's a new low for her," Scyther said. "Fill us in! This ought to be good!"

"So, get this: she claimed the Everstones we mined are filled with pyrite and fluorite! And she also said I'd be poisoning the world if I released those stones' powder into the atmosphere! Oh, and the best part is, she even got Adorbs and Tectarro to repeat that lie!"

Paras was the only one of the three Team Static guys to find that funny.

"Wait, sir, isn't Tectarro a Geologist?" Wynaut asked. "I remember him being the head of the Geological Science Department at Llyria. He could be right about those stones."

"Excuse me?" Paras asked in an irritated tone. "Are you implying that she's right?"

"No, sir. But don't you think it's a bit of a big chance to take? I mean, we could always get some Everstones from elsewhere. Why not fill the rocket up with cleaner stones?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea, actually," Scyther added in agreement with his colleague.

"I will be doing no such thing," Paras curtly responded. "We are proceeding with the plan as-is. Now then, let's get back to the task at hand. The rocket needs fuel."

* * *

Back at the cell, Snivy had finished balancing the team's budget. For the time being, Blessing had given up trying to escape.

"Hey, prisoner," Snivy said. "I'm going out to get some food. Want anything?" Snivy extended her vines over to Blessing, reaching under the scarf to remove the tape. She quickly retracted the vine before Blessing had a chance to bite it. She figured that she might as well tell her order to her captor.

"Vn Orvn Brry Svndwrch," Blessing said, though the scarf garbled her words.

"All right, then," Snivy responded. "I'll be having that, too. Be back in a sec." Snivy reapplied the tape to Blessing's mouth before leaving to get the food.

Within half an hour, Snivy was back with two Oran Berry Sandwiches. To Blessing's surprise, Snivy opened the cell door and came inside the cell. She undid the tape and the scarf and left the ropes and PP-Zero Bracelets intact.

"Here you go, Blessing," Snivy said. "Lunch is served. Though with your arms tied up, you might have it a bit tough to eat it."

"No problem, actually," Blessing answered. "In jail, I've eaten food while inmates held my arms behind my back." She leaned down and tore off a small piece of the sandwich in front of her.

"By the way, where did you get the name 'Blessing' from?" Snivy asked. "I've always been curious about that. It's a very unusual name, you know."

"Wow, are you really _that_ bored?" Blessing taunted. "Here I thought you liked seeing me struggle."

"I did for a while, but it got old. Besides, the guys are out siphoning rocket fuel, so they won't be back for a few hours, so I'm going to be here all day. I might as well socialize with you, being as I was told not to make any outgoing calls to avoid the possibility of the phone line being tapped into by the police."

"You know, maybe you ought to find a better job—"

"So are you going to answer my question or not?"

"Oh, right. Sorry." Blessing finished her sandwich, as did Snivy. "I got my name from Professor Adorbs. She visited me in jail one day and told me she'd adopt me if I behaved myself. So I did, and I was let out early. And once I was out, she adopted me and named me 'Blessing,' saying that that's what I am to her."

"How nice. But why would she offer to adopt some random jailbird?"

"She knew my biological parents. As soon as she saw me, she recognized me as their daughter immediately."

"And where are your biological parents?"

"Heck if I know. As soon as I was able to fend for myself, they ran out on me."

"Wha— geez! That's terrible!"

"Heh, you almost sound like you care."

"Actually, I _do_ care! No one deserves to be deserted by their parents like that! Pokémon who do that don't deserve to have families!"

"Well, I can't imagine _your_ family being happy with you working for a terrorist."

"Family? I have no family."

Blessing was shocked herself for feeling sympathy for her enemy. "Why? What happened?"

"They were never around when I hatched. They were never around for any part of my life. I literally grew up alone until the day I met Paras. I met him just before the last Genesis Day, and his family took me in. Then we started Team Static a few years later and gained more members." Snivy smiled a little bit. "Team Static… it's more than just a team to me. They're more like family to me."

"But aren't you angry at them for constantly leaving you out of big jobs?"

"Yeah, a little. But it's a part of being in a family. Besides, I'm sure Paras will stop being so harsh once Operation Everstone succeeds. He's been stressed lately, but I think he'll go back to being the kindly leader he was soon."

At that moment, the men of the team returned. Snivy quickly reapplied the tape and the scarf and exited the cell.

"Snivy, you forgot to shut the cell door behind you," Paras scolded. "If the prisoner had escaped, everything could've been over for us! Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Sorry, sir," Snivy said, amid Blessing's muffled protesting. "How did your mission go, guys?"

"Without a hitch!" Scyther gloated. "Although I gotta admit, something still bothers me."

"I have to agree with Scyther," Wynaut added. "I still support Team Static, but I'm not really inclined to doubt the words of a Geologist."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Snivy asked.

"Oh, Snivy, you'll love this," Paras said. "Pelame tried to get me to believe that there's harmful chemicals in the Everstones we harvested from the mine below this shack. Of course, these two seem to think she was telling the truth."

"Sir, what if they are?" Snivy asked.

"It's a trick to get me to call the plan off!" Paras suddenly snapped. He soon recomposed himself, rubbing his pained back. "The rocket's all fueled up. Tomorrow, we'll harvest more Everstones, grind them up, and fill the rocket up with the powder. And then, Operation Everstone will remove evolution from the world. But for now, why don't we all take a break?" Paras left for the mine.

"Sir…"

* * *

Later that night, Wynaut was online looking up a database about minerals. He never forgot the names of the minerals that were said to be in the Everstones, so those were the first he looked up. He was currently reading a report from one of the other miners who once worked there.

"'Fluorite is one of the deadliest materials we've ever mined,'" Wynaut read to himself. "'If it gets into your body, it can cause a very painful symptom known as skeletal fluorosis, which causes the skeleton to suffer sporadic fits of pain and can even cause osteosclerosis in the spine.' Wait, could that mean…?"

As a surgeon, Wynaut had noticed that his boss would periodically strain his back.

"All this time, I thought it was some kind of congenital disorder. That's what he told me it was. And since the pain seems to have gotten worse lately…" Then, he was convinced. "Pelame and Tectarro _were_ right!" He immediately went down into the mine to see Paras.

"Perfect…" Paras said after grinding down the last of the Everstones harvested earlier that day. "One more batch, and we'll have enough to fill the rocket." Once more, Paras strained his back.

"Sir, I need to talk to you about something!" Wynaut said, entering the grinding room.

"What is it, Wynaut?" Paras asked, irritated. "This better be important."

"It is, sir." Wynaut got to work treating his boss's back. "I know what's wrong with your back. You're suffering from skeletal fluorosis."

"Now how could I have gotten that?"

"From fluoride. Sir, Pelame was telling the truth. I think—"

"PARDON ME?!"

"Sir, you'll hurt your back again!"

"Don't change the subject! You're going to believe the words of our enemies over my own words?!"

"Sir, Tectarro's a licensed Geologist, and I'm a licensed doctor. What he said matches up perfectly. It's bad enough that _you're_ suffering from this condition, but those Everstones will do that to _everyone_."

"Nonsense! All I'm suffering from is a congenital disorder made worse by stress!"

"No, sir! It's neither of those! Didn't you ever notice you never had these pains until we started mining here? Why won't you listen to me?!"

"I've heard enough of this! Get out of my sight!"

Wynaut did as told, having made his mind up about what he'd do next. He got on the phone and called upstairs.

* * *

"Hello?" Snivy answered. What Wynaut told her stunned her immediately. "Impossible…" Then, Wynaut told her some instructions. "Okay, Wynaut. I'll meet you there soon." She hung the phone up. After that, she opened the cell and ungagged Blessing. "Sorry I can't untie you, but I don't want to make those dark threads tighter. We're getting out of here."

"What happened?" Blessing asked. "Some infighting?"

"You could say that. I'd say it's a case of the boss going nuts. But before we go, there's someone I need to call…" Snivy went back to the phone and dialed a number into it. "Come over here, Blessing. Once the call goes through, I'm sure your mom will want to talk to you."

"Hello?" Adorbs answered on the other line.

"Hello, is this Professor Adorbs of Llyria Academy?" Snivy asked.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"This is Snivy of Team Static. Get Pelame and include her in on this conversation."

"Why should I?"

"Because your daughter's freedom depends on it."

For a moment, Adorbs's end of the line went silent. Then after a few minutes, an answer came.

"What do you want, Snivy?" Pelame demanded.

"First of all, is Adorbs listening in on this conversation?" Snivy asked.

"Yes, she is."

"Good, because I want her to know that her daughter will soon be safely returned to her. I'm undermining my boss's orders and setting her free. I want you and your friends to meet me at the Sing Inn tomorrow afternoon. Scyther and Wynaut will be there, too."

"How come? Is this a trick?!"

"No, Pelame, it isn't," Blessing said. "Paras has gone too crazy for his underlings to tolerate, so they're going behind his back. They're going to help us stop Operation Everstone."

Snivy took the phone back from Blessing and continued speaking. "See, Wynaut looked up those minerals you said were in those Everstones, and he found that you were right. Paras's back had been hurting like crazy lately, and we think it could be because of the fluoride. He still doubts you, but Wynaut, Scyther, and I don't."

"Well, thanks for listening to me."

"Thank me after we stop this plan. Do you understand what you need to do?"

"Yes, Snivy. See you tomorrow."

"See you soon, Pelame," Blessing said. Both ends then hung up.

"All right, Blessing. Let's get out of here."

* * *

Back at Llyria Academy, Torden had received an email from Snivy, which contained a list of items to bring along. He printed the list out and brought it to Pelame.

"So, we're to bring all that junk to the Sing Inn at Pathway Town?" he asked.

"Yes, Torden," Pelame answered. "We're going to stop Paras once and for all."


	10. The Right to Evolve

Chapter 10 – The Right to Evolve

* * *

Paras was livid upon reading the note left to him.

"'To Paras,  
We want you to know that we support Team Static and that we also see you as more than just our boss. We see you as a family member. We'll always be grateful to you for everything you've done for us. And that's why, for your own good, we have no choice but to cease our involvement in Operation Everstone. We don't want to poison the world, and we beg you not to do the same. Please stop before you become worse than the monsters you fear Pokémon becoming when they evolve.

Sincerely,  
Snivy, Wynaut, and Scyther'"

Paras stabbed a hole in the paper after finishing it.

"Very well, then," he said to himself. "Operation Everstone will proceed with me working on it alone!"

* * *

Tectarro's van served as a perfect means of supply transportation. At promptly 11:00 PM, he arrived in Pathway Town along with his passengers Adorbs, Pelame, Pugno, and Torden. At such a late hour, it was no time to check into any lodgings. Even if it was, none of them had any vacancies. So, there was no other choice but to sleep in the van.

"Sure doesn't seem like we'll be in for a comfortable sleep tonight…" Pelame said with unease. A van packed full of supplies left enough room for sitting down during a long drive, but that would hardly be comfortable for sleeping in. But they had to make do with it.

* * *

Out of all the travelers in the van, Pelame was the first to awaken. Although she always was an early riser, it was usually in comfort. Quietly as she could, she opened the door of the van and left it. Once outside, she took the chance to stretch her legs.

"Good morning, Pelame," Pugno greeted. "Getting the cramps out?"

"Yeah…" Pelame said sheepishly. "It was really uncomfortable sleeping in that packed van."

"Tell me about it…" Pugno got to stretching his legs and arms. "Looks like we're the only ones awake. Want to go get some breakfast?"

"Sure."

Some time after Pelame and Pugno left, Torden had awakened. Being as he was the least cramped, he didn't feel any aches in his body. But he still felt the urge to leave the van and move around. In just a few minutes, Pelame and Pugno were back with some pancakes.

"I was wondering where you two were," Torden greeted. "Any of that for me?"

"Good morning to you too, Torden," Pugno responded sarcastically. "We can split it with you."

"Sure! Thanks!"

As the three friends ate, they took this chance to have a nice, friendly conversation.

"You know, it's gonna be a bit of an adjustment going back to a normal life after fighting Team Static," Pugno said. "We've still got about two-and-a-half months left until we graduate."

"Yeah, it'll be a bummer to return to school," Torden added. "Although I do kinda miss Professor Henry's awesome class."

"Personally, I'd _love_ to get back to school," Pelame added. "I'd like to know more about that 'Alpha Bloodline' Professor Bibli said I'm apparently part of. Not to mention that the curriculum for this part of the semester is to cover the Swadfrieg War. I've been looking forward to that all year."

"Pelame, you probably already know everything there is to know about that war," Pugno responded, lightly prodding Pelame with his elbow. "Your dad fought during it, after all."

"Well, I'd like to hear other perspectives on it. Part of being in a group of historians is pooling together collected information. My friend Kasumi is just about my equal in historical knowledge."

"In combat class, Professor Aramir stressed how important it is to cooperate. He says that if I'm to be a royal guard, I have to be able to work with other guards and soldiers. Weston and I have been working on a side-by-side routine."

"Well, don't stand back-to-back with him. Firebutt will burn you," Torden joked.

"His flame doesn't hurt unless he's angry," Pugno responded. "Also, don't call him that."

"Sheesh, it's just a joke. But anyway, as good a fighter as I am, I think Technology is my calling in life. By the end of the semester, I'll have released the Porygon Program to the world. No more malware attacks when Porygon gets through them. And also, I've been working with Grommet on a website where Pokémon can share videos online. We're calling it 'DummyBox.'"

"'Dummybox'?"

"Well, it's still a work in progress. Grommet wants to call it 'Videot.'"

"Wait, Grommet? The shiny gligar who transferred here from Ordoxivia?"

"Yep. And yes, his computer is customized for his pincer-hands. He told me that computer customization was literally the first course they taught tech majors at Kiystrang Insitiute."

"Honestly, I think 'Videot' will be the better name for the site," Pelame said. "No offense, Torden, but 'DummyBox' kinda makes the site sound like it'll be for fools sharing hidden-camera footage of other fools humiliating themselves. 'Videot' does give a bit of a low-intelligence vibe, but not as much. Plus, it's a better-disguised pun."

"All right, all right, I get it!"

"So, what will the test video be?" Pugno asked. "I gotta admit, I'm intrigued by this idea of yours."

"Well, I filmed myself trying to set up that new TV I bought last month, and it was kinda funny."

"What's so funny about almost dropping the TV on yourself?" Pelame asked. "You could've been hospitalized for that."

"Someone in the world will find it funny. I've known Blessing to laugh at stuff like that."

At the mention of their missing friend's name, the conversation suddenly stopped, and then changed to the current situation.

"You know, we're going to be seeing her in an hour or so," Pelame said. "I can't wait to see her again."

"Me neither."

As the three friends had been eating and talking, Professor Adorbs and Professor Tectarro had awakened.

"I can't wait to see my daughter again," Adorbs said. "Those Team Static employees will—"

"—be given the thrashing of a lifetime!" Torden cried.

"No, Torden. We can't just go picking a fight with them. To be honest, I want to talk to the Team Static members. They had to be convinced to join Paras _some_how."

"I've been curious about that, too," Pelame responded. "Considering whatever caused them to release Blessing. Although, I'm suspecting a trap."

"I don't think any of us aren't," Pugno added. "So, are we ready to go?"

"Yep," Tectarro answered. "Let's get going."

* * *

At the Sing Inn, the three Team Static admins were waiting along with Blessing.

"Ahh, yes! It sure is great to have that Everstone removed from me!" she said with enthusiasm. "Though I can't help but ask, why _did_ you implant it in my butt?"

"That was Paras's idea," Wynaut answered. "He wanted you to feel humiliated and hurt, considering how deep you and those three friends of yours have gotten under his skin."

"Joke's on him, because I hardly felt it even when I sat down. It was nothing like anything I experienced while I was in jail."

An awkward silence followed that statement.

"Although it never got worse than slapping, kicking, and paddling."

"…well, your friends ought to be on their way soon," Scyther said, eager to change the subject. A knock on the door gave him his answer. "Well, that'll be them now." When he opened the door, he was immediately hit by a Thunderbolt attack from Torden. Pelame rushed in to undo the dark threads binding Blessing.

"Blessing, let's go!" he called to her after the hostage was freed. To their surprise, she stayed put.

"Not until these three tell you what's on their minds," she responded. "So, mind telling me what in the world you did that for, even though I assured you they could be trusted?"

"Sorry, Blessing, but I don't trust them."

"Me neither," Pelame added. "Because_ this_ brute…" she pointed at Scyther. "…tried to slice my head off!"

"…yeah…" Scyther said sadly. "Look, Pelame, I may be angry at you for the trouble you caused for my boss before, but I'd never want you dead for it, even if he ordered a hit out for you. I'm really sorry for trying to kill you that time."

"That's nice, Scyther, but I can't forgive you. I'm not even sure I can trust you." Pelame's glare softened a bit. "But I'll give you a chance to explain yourself. I'll give all of you a chance."

"Fair enough."

At that, Adorbs and Tectarro entered the room. Blessing immediately rushed to hug her mother. The Team Static admins couldn't help but feel their hearts being warmed at the sight of the reunion.

"You look well, mom," Blessing greeted. "Sorry to have worried you."

"It's okay, darling," Adorbs responded. "I'm just glad you're alive and well."

The two embraced each other once more.

"I miss my family life…" Scyther reminisced. "Team Static became my new family after the incident, though. No way I can go back home after…"

Scyther immediately got everyone's attention with that remark.

"Go on, Scyther," Adorbs said, genuinely interested. "In fact, why don't all of you explain why you joined Team Static? Scyther already has the floor."

"You really want to know?" Scyther asked. "I thought you didn't trust me."

"But we're giving you a chance. Remember?"

"Oh, right." Scyther took a seat and came clean. "See, I've always been abnormally physically strong, even for a Scyther. I found out the hard way, when my dad took offense to my romantic preference. He said I should leave the house, adding that he'd prefer me dead."

"Well, that was heartless of him," Blessing interjected. "Seriously, more Pokémon ought to be like my mom. When I came out, she was perfectly fine with it."

Torden perked up in surprise to that statement. Before he could say anything, though, Scyther continued.

"That makes me happy to hear, Blessing. So anyway, that comment rubbed me the wrong way, and when I lashed out, I ended up knocking him into a five-day-long coma. Since then, I feared my strength, and by extension, I feared how out-of-control it would get if I ever evolved. That's why Team Static appealed to me. Plus, I needed a job and a family. That's what I felt like the team was. Paras was like the dad I never had, even if he's only twenty years old. I owe my life to him."

"Well, Scyther, that's nice, but there's no need to phrase it so dramatically," Pelame said.

"No, I really do owe my life to him. If it weren't for him, I would've died in that mine. You see, one day while I was excavating in there for Everstones, I dug into a chamber full of hydrogen sulfide gas."

"Oh goodness, no!" Tectarro cried. "That stuff's deadly!"

"So anyway…"

* * *

_"__Just you wait, sir," Scyther said to entice himself. "I'll uncover the biggest Everstone haul ever. We'll have more than enough for Wynaut's idea."_

_Encouraged, Scyther devoted more of his energy into digging into the mine. His swords remained as sharp as ever, and he took special care not to chip them. His main motivation was to please his boss. With one precise strike, he brought down a section of the wall._

_"__Gross… did someone abandon an egg down here? Sure is gonna require a shower to wash the stench off of… me…" Suddenly, Scyther became woozy._

_Back outside the mine, Paras and Snivy were briefing their newest member on their operations._

_"__The important thing is that they decide on their own," Paras said. "It's okay to persuade them to say 'yes,' but don't use aggressive force. That will only motivate someone to say 'no,' and condemn Team Static as terrorists."_

_"__Understood, sir," Wynaut responded. "Once Scyther comes up with those Everstones, I'll be off to Llyria County to see if I can find a volunteer. The Academy ought to be a good starting place. Oh, and by the way, I think someone left a rotten egg nearby."_

_"__But we don't have any eggs," Snivy said._

_"__Then I suggest we get away from this vent right here, because that's hydrogen sulfide we're smelling, and it can kill us."_

_Then, Paras remembered something important._

_"__No… he couldn't be…" Paras took off running into the mine without another word, frantic to find his underling. As soon as he got down particularly deep into the mine, he smelled the rotten egg scent, prompting him to hold his breath. He entered the hole in the wall and found Scyther unconscious. He put his foreleg on Scyther's neck, feeling for a pulse._

"He's alive,"_ he thought in relief. He then got out a rope and tied his unconscious and slowly dying employee to himself. With all his strength, he managed to drag him out of the mine, away from the general area of the mine._

_"__Sir, what happened?" Snivy asked._

_"__Stay back!" Paras ordered. "Give him some air!" When Scyther started stirring, Paras was greatly relieved. He immediately gave him a hug._

_"__Sir, what happened?" Scyther asked in a fatigued tone. He let out a few coughs before being able to speak again. "Last thing I remember was that I was digging, then I uncovered a really smelly chamber, and then I fainted."_

_"__You dug into a chamber full of poisonous gas," Paras answered. "Wynaut caught a whiff of it and told me what it was."_

_"__And once I did, the boss was off like a bullet," Wynaut added. "He went down there to save you, Scyther."_

_"__Oh, Scyther! I'm so sorry for sending you down there! If you had died down there, it would've been my fault! I promise I'll never endanger you again!"_

_"__No, sir, _I'm_ the one who should apologize," Scyther responded. "I didn't find any Everstones yet."_

_"__Who cares about the stupid Everstones?! For now, let's just use store-bought ones!"_

_"__But sir, what if we run out? I can get Everstones out of there if I just stay away from the poison room—"_

_"__No! Absolutely not! You're not going back in that mine until I can get a gas mask for you! That's an order!"_

_"__Wait, sir, I can—"_

_"__No, Scyther, you can't! I can't risk losing you! Don't you know you're more than just an employee to me?!" Paras turned to his other teammates. "All of you are more than just workers to me. The way I see it, you're family. If I lose any of you, it'll be like losing a sibling. And… well… I don't know if I can handle that…"_

* * *

"The boss was really protective of me that day," Scyther finished.

"From what you said, Paras sounded compassionate," Adorbs said. "Certainly a far cry from the terrorist who attacked the Academy and abducted my daughter."

_"__Wow, even _Paras_ would've been a better dad than my actual dad,"_ Torden thought to himself.

"To be honest, professor," Scyther said. "I miss the days the boss was such a caring guy. The way he is now…"

"I may not have known him as long as Scyther and Snivy have," Wynaut said. "But I've definitely noticed his change in behavior. I joined the team only because I needed a job, and quite a lot of job sites are hesitant to follow the King's equal opportunities law."

"The boss was perfectly fine and calm until about a week ago," Snivy recounted. "The last few times he had me give public assemblies, the turnouts were really disappointing. We haven't gained a new member since Wynaut. I never realized that it was getting to the boss so much. One day, he went exploring by himself in the mine, and when he came out, he was different."

"He used to go out of his way to avoid violence," Scyther added. "He used to discourage it. He drilled it into our heads to stay calm even when under pressure, and he always stressed how important it was to let a Pokémon choose whether or not they wanted to evolve. He was very adverse to force."

"And then when he came out of the mine that day, it was like he became a different Pokémon altogether," Wynaut added. "He started going on about how 'the world only listens to force and fear nowadays,' which I don't believe for a second, mind you."

"In that case, why did you all still follow him?" Torden asked. "You knew better than anyone that he was going nuts!"

"Because I just wanted him to be happy," Scyther answered. "Families stick together, right?"

"And that's the reason in a nutshell," Snivy added. "And that's also the reason we fought against all of you when you attacked him that time at our old hideout."

"So what made you finally realize you were on the wrong side?" Pugno asked.

"Well, actually, it isn't wrong to oppose evolution—" Wynaut started before being interrupted.

"But it also isn't right to, either," Pelame interjected. "But it's _definitely_ wrong to force everyone to not be able to evolve. _That's_ the problem."

"I agree," Wynaut said in concurrence. "I always wait until a Pokémon gives me a definite 'yes' before I implant an Everstone into their body. But that was before I was told what was in those Everstones."

"We were perfectly fine with Operation Everstone until we found out that you and Tectarro weren't lying about those deadly minerals," Scyther added. "The boss's back pain was a bit mild when Wynaut first joined, but lately, it's been getting worse. That's why we believe you about it."

"I suffered that kind of pain myself when I mined there," Tectarro said. "I thought no one would've been able to locate that place after we buried it. Looks like doing that wasn't enough to keep Pokémon out of it for their own good."

"Oh, that reminds me…" Snivy said, getting a checklist out of a backpack belonging to her. "You brought explosives, right?"

"Yep. My van's just about overflowing with dynamite. I already told the cops that I'm destroying the mine, so they let me through with it all."

Scyther took a look outside and found Tectarro's van. "Sheesh, why not just bring a nuclear missile while you're at it?!"

"I just want to blow up the mine, not the entire county."

"Okay, so I can check dynamite off the list. How about the gas masks?"

"Got those, too. And some extras in case of emergencies."

"Check. Then I think we're ready to bring the boss back to his senses."

"All righty, then! Let's get going!"

All the others left except Torden, who looked rather sad. "…Blessing?"

"What is it?" she asked, noticing his expression.

"Why didn't you ever tell me that… that…"

"That what?"

"About your… uh… preference?"

"Oh, that I prefer girls? Well, you never asked. I would've told you if you did."

"…I see…"

"Is that all right with you, Torden?"

"Of course! I'd never think less of you for your preference! It's just that, well… all this time… I felt like… maybe I had a chance with you. But now, I don't. Now I feel like I've just been some idiotic stalker to you."

"That is nonsense, Torden. I never felt stalked by you. True, I didn't feel attracted to you, but I still enjoyed your company. Your friendship is enough for me."

Torden looked up and smiled at his friend. "…I can settle for that, myself."

"It's a deal. Now, let's go beat Paras!"

"Right!" And with that, the two caught up to the others.

* * *

In a deep chamber of the mine, Paras loaded the Llyria Rocket with the last bit of Everstone powder necessary for his plan. Having accomplished that, he went back into the rocket control room that overlooked the launch platform.

"It won't be long now, Pocketurn," Paras gloated. "In ten minutes, evolution will cease to be. Then I can focus on figuring out how to de-evolve Pokémon who already evolved." At that, he started up the rocket's launch sequence. A timer displaying ten minutes lit up all throughout the chamber, and began counting down. "Just try to stop me now, you traitors!"

* * *

The Team Static admins arrived at the entrance of the mine along with Pelame, Pugno, Torden, Blessing, Adorbs, and Tectarro.

"So, why did I have to leave my van all the way back at the rest stop?" Tectarro asked. "You know it's an all-terrain vehicle, right?"

"You'll see in just a sec," Snivy answered. "Blessing, I need your help."

"What for?" Blessing asked.

"We're going to knock the mine's power out. Do you know Iron Tail?"

"Yes, I do."

"Perfect. Then this'll work perfectly. Come over here." Blessing did as told. "This is a trick I learned from 'Charge Brothers—'"

"Oh, I know where this is going," Torden interrupted. "You're going to smash your Iron Tails together to make an EMP. Which is why you had Tectarro park his van far from here, so it wouldn't detonate his dynamite."

"Exactly," Snivy answered. "And Torden, we'll need you to supply us with an electrical charge to do that with. After all, just striking two Iron Tails together on their own won't be enough. Ready, Blessing?" Snivy turned her tail iron as she asked this.

"Ready, Snivy," Blessing answered, turning her tail feathers iron on Snivy's signal. She got down on all fours, ready to strike.

"Okay, Torden. Aim a Thunderbolt at our Iron Tails."

"Gotcha," Torden said, firing off a Thunderbolt. The electric attack hit the targets, giving Blessing and Snivy a bit of a jolt.

"Now, Blessing!" Snivy ordered. On the signal, the two struck their electrically charged Iron Tails together, releasing a wave of electromagnetic energy. They saw the result as the lights inside the mine flickered out. "Perfect. That'll give us about half an hour before everything starts up again. Scyther, Wynaut, go in there with me and get Paras out. Tectarro, Adorbs, go get the van. Pelame, Pugno, Blessing, Torden, stay here until Tectarro and Adorbs return."

Everyone nodded in agreement to Snivy's plan and got to it.

"So, how are you feeling, Blessing?" Pelame asked.

"Oh, I'm fine," she answered. "I don't have an Everstone in me anymore, so it's all good. Although it's a bit embarrassing having a little bald spot on my butt."

"Yeah, I deliberately avoided asking about that…"

"It's kinda weird, though. I certainly didn't enjoy being held hostage by Team Static, but I felt safer than when I was in jail. In fact, Paras's threat to kill me was empty all along. That gun was never loaded. Turns out he just said that to get you off his back."

"And oddly, it was his back that started what we're doing now," Pugno said.

"Yeah. Plus, I got to know Snivy a bit, and I found out she had a harder life than I did. Paras literally was her family, as her real family ran out on her before she hatched."

"Well, I can only hope that they can get through to Paras, then," Pelame said. "They always were better as a peaceful family unit."

* * *

Down in the launch room, the Iron Tail EMP from above had reached it and shut everything down. Paras immediately exited the chamber, heading for the electric generator chamber. Just ten more minutes, and his plan would've succeeded. Now he had to walk all the way to the generator room, located near the entrance of the mine. And now, of all times, he had to suffer an inconvenience? That caused him to arrive at a conclusion.

_"__Well, Pelame,"_ he thought. _"You sure are persistent. But to think you would actually black my mine out—"_

"Sir, you need to evacuate now!" Scyther cried as he and the other former Team Static admins entered the generator chamber.

"So, after leaving me that note, you traitors dared to come crawling back to me," Paras mused. "You know, it isn't too late to help me with this operation. I'm open to reconciliation."

"Sir, you mustn't launch that rocket. And furthermore, we all need to—"

"Fine, then." Paras then grew out his energy wings and used his improvised and illegitimate Bug Buzz move with them. While they were stunned, he took the time to toss an Energy Ball at them, knocking them out of the room. As soon as he chased them out of there, Scyther got up to attack.

"This will hurt me more than you," he said as he landed a Steel Wing attack on his boss. "I'm begging you, sir. Please listen to me. This mine will be destroyed—"

"I'm not interested in anything traitors have to say!"

"Paras!" Pelame called. Paras turned to see that his adversaries had arrived.

"Well, if it isn't Pelame and her group of evolution-loving shills," he taunted. "You all seem confident that you'll ruin everything I set out to do. Knocking out the mine's power has only bought you time. It has helped you in no other way."

"I wouldn't be sure of that, Paras," Tectarro responded. "I'm blowing this mine to smithereens, so I suggest you leave if you want to live. Dynamite is unstable, you know."

"I see. So you'd go this far in the name of evolution? You'd oppose me so thoroughly as to make a possible attempt on my life? All to protect the possibility of evolving? You really are all shills."

"You don't get it at all, Paras!" Pelame cried. "Do you really think your stance on evolution is our problem with you?!"

"Well, why else would you be fighting me?!" Before he allowed his enemy to answer, he launched a Stun Spore at her and the others. Being as they were currently wearing gas masks, it had no effect on them. However, once the misty powder cleared, Paras was gone. Without needing to be told, Pelame gave chase. Scyther quickly followed.

"He's heading for the launch chamber!" Snivy said. She and Wynaut had been stunned by the Stun Spore, as they had forgotten to equip gas masks.

Paras hadn't gotten too far ahead of Pelame, who had covered the most ground out of her traveling crew. Paras took a moment to toss an Energy Ball behind himself, hoping it would hit Pelame. Instead, it hit a support beam on the ceiling and caused a small cave-in, walling the rest of the tunnel off and burying Scyther beneath a large portion of the rocks. Pelame managed to get ahead of it just before it fell, but this meant the others got separated from her.

"It's up to you now, Pelame," Pugno said, wishing the best for his friend. He then got to helping pull Scyther out of the cave-in.

"Remember: we're detonating this once Pelame and Paras evacuate," Tectarro reminded. "Not a moment before it's certain they'll be fine."

* * *

At long last, Pelame reached the end of the tunnel, which was where the launch room was. She was a bit afraid that she'd have to face Paras alone, especially when a blast door shut behind her.

_"__I can't turn back, though,"_ she thought to herself. _"I guess it really is up to me."_

Gathering up whatever part of her had remaining courage, she called out to her foe. "You're out of room to run, Paras! Show yourself!"

As soon as she said that, she was directly hit by a Solar Beam careening out of the darkness. It knocked her flat on her back. As she struggled to her feet, Paras revealed himself.

"Paras, why are you doing this?"

"I don't need to explain it to you, Pelame," Paras curtly responded. "I already did once, and it wasn't enough for you, all because you love evolution so passionately. Clueless and bold morons like you get on my nerves…"

"Yeah? Well… stubborn and violent thugs like _you_ get on _my_ nerves!" She then charged at him with a Quick Attack, striking him in the face. "I had respect for your team back when you were just a motivational speaker group. In fact, I pity your teammates for having to see you become such a cold-blooded terrorist, instead of the father they always wanted!"

"…wh-what was that…?"

"They told me and my friends everything. You used to be an advocate for free choice. You used to let Pokémon choose whether or not they wanted an Everstone to be implanted into them. No matter how you felt about evolving, you never abandoned your priority of choice. But the Paras I see now is none of that. The Paras I speak to now is a terrorist who is willing to force the world to lose the ability to evolve, regardless of the side effects. Not to mention that you've abandoned and alienated your teammates— no— your family members."

"Well, what else was I to do?!"

The power then suddenly came back on. Paras's confidence returned with it. Without another word, he rushed toward the control room. But just as he was about to press the launch button to restart the timer, his back strained once again. Pelame took that chance to go to the rocket, climb up it, and use her Iron Tail attack on its fuel tank to make it leak its fuel out. She saw no other way to stop Operation Everstone. She had only struck it five times by the time Paras restrained her with some Dark Threads. Being an Alpha, she was able to dispel them immediately. She then got back to work. It was rather difficult to do when Paras was tossing ranged attacks at her. He then grew out his energy wings and used his improvised and illegitimate Bug Buzz to try to stun her with sound. He vibrated them with enough intensity to shake up the entire chamber, making rocks fall from the ceiling. When even that didn't work, Paras resorted to one final action. He gathered up energy for a Solar Beam and combined his Dark Blessing energy into it.

"Goodbye, Pelame!" he shouted in mad glee. As he launched his attack, his back strained again, messing up his aim. It ended up hitting the rocket's fuel tank. The force of the attack nearly jostled Pelame off of the rocket. Once she regained her balance, she delivered one final strike. And with that final attack, the rupture was made, and all the fuel poured out, flooding the chamber. While submerged, Paras pressed a button to open the hatches in the ceiling. The fuel was enough to fill the room up to the ceiling, up to the first hatch. The two climbed onto a safe hold. Pelame shook the fuel out of her fur. She looked up and saw Paras on the other side of the hatch, looking shocked.

"How did this happen…?" he asked in resignation. "Operation Everstone… how did it fail…?"

"This is what you deserved, Paras, for abandoning everything that made you who you were. All in the name of resisting evolution, you've let yourself become a monster. Just like Fungus."

At that comment, an unspeakable rage filled Paras. A dark shield covered the liquid fuel below them. Paras ran across the makeshift floor and charged at Pelame. However much he hated her before, those feelings gave way to complete bloodlust.

"You ruined _EVERYTHING_ for me!" he screamed as he missed Pelame's throat with an X-Scissor attack. "You made my rocket leak all its fuel, so now I'll make your body leak out all its blood!" He jumped onto her back and stuck a Leech Seed onto the back of her head. Before it could grow out and sap her energy, she quickly rolled over, dislodging it and quickly crushing Paras. He then started pelting her with Seed Bombs, not letting up to give her a chance to fight back. As Pelame struggled to stand back up, Paras got his dark Solar Beam ready once again. He fired it at Pelame as she got back on her feet. Caught in a life-threatening predicament, she tapped into her newfound Alpha power and blocked the attack with a shield made of light.

"That's enough, Paras!" Pelame said bravely. "You've already lost!"

"NEVER! If I can't beat you, then…" Against all his wishes, he began climbing the walls up the long shaft up to the surface. Before he could escape, Pelame placed another light shield over the next hatch.

"There's no escape. Just give up."

Paras was still having none of it. In his rage, he hadn't noticed that his dark force field was waning. It completely vanished just as he tossed another Seed Bomb at Pelame. When she blocked it, it ricocheted and fell into the fuel pool.

_"__Once that detonates…"_ Pelame thought to herself, terrified of the result. Mustering up every bit of power she had, she surrounded both herself and Paras in an Alpha-created force field. As she predicted (and dreaded), the Seed Bomb detonated and set off a giant chain reaction. Everything in the mine was completely obliterated in the blast, which created a giant crater in the Pathway Badlands. Luckily, the Team Static admins had earlier been carried out of the mine by Pugno, Blessing, Torden, Adorbs, and Tectarro. Once they heard the giant explosion, they instantly rushed back to the badlands.

"…Pelame…" Pugno said, beginning to fear the worst had happened to her.

"…Paras…" Scyther said, fearing the same had happened to his boss.

"Don't just stand there!" Tectarro ordered. "Help me dig! They could still be alive! There's always a chance of survival!"

Agreeing with the professor, everyone except Scyther began pitching in. Scyther attempted to stand up, but his body was too badly damaged by the earlier cave-in.

* * *

Back down in the mine, Pelame awakened to find herself buried under lots of burnt rocks. Paras was unconscious next to her. She began trying to dig her way out, using her Alpha Sigil to light the small space. At that moment, Paras awakened. Try as he might, he couldn't stand up. But he could speak, though.

"What happened?!" he demanded. "Where are we? Are we…in the afterlife? Have we… died?"

"No, Paras, we're not dead," Pelame answered. "Your Seed Bomb detonated the rocket fuel, and I can only assume that it set off the dynamite Tectarro rigged the mine with. The mine's been destroyed, along with the rocket, the Everstones, and everything else in it. We've been buried under the collapse, and I'm trying to dig us out now. So please stay out of my way while I do that."

"Wait, the mine collapsed? Then, how did we survive?"

"I used my Alpha power to shield us from the explosion."

"You saved me? But…don't you hate me for being the opposite of an evolution-loving shill like yourself?"

"No, Paras." Pelame then stopped digging and took a seat in front of Paras. "I'm going to tell you everything, and you are going to listen to me. Understand?"

"…I guess I have no choice now. You already beat me in battle… Get it over with."

"Paras, I never hated you or your team because of your stance against evolution. I certainly disagree with your views on it, but I don't think that's worth violence over. I only started having a problem with it when I heard about that Everstone surgery. Now, I'll admit that I overreacted that day, but so did Scyther. And then when you stole the Llyria Rocket to use in Operation Everstone, that was the last straw, and the point where I decided that you needed to be stopped. And then, we ran into another problem; you were so completely focused on your plan that you would hear absolutely nothing against it, even if it was testimonial from a licensed professor of geology. And that was where even your own teammates decided enough was enough. And you wouldn't even listen to them."

"Well, why should I listen to traitors?! Pelame, how would _you_ like it if one of _your_ friends betrayed you?! How would _you_ like it if your own _FAMILY_ turned on you?! Would _you_ take it so well?!" Paras's eyes were beginning to tear up, and his voice was beginning to break a bit. "How would _you_ like to lose everything short of your life?! You might as well have just let me die in the explosion!"

"Paras, cut that out! You have not lost everything! You still have Scyther, Snivy, and Wynaut! They never truly betrayed Team Static! Look, the only reason they helped us was for _your_ sake. They never stopped caring about you. They wanted you back; the Paras who treated them like family members. The Paras who took them in when they needed help. They wanted _that_ Paras back. They never wanted a terrorist. Look at it from _their_ point of view; they had to see a Pokémon who mattered to them become someone wicked. But if the Paras they loved could possibly return, they'd do anything for that."

To her surprise, Paras was hanging on her every word.

"And to be honest, I want to meet _that_ Paras, myself."

"…but, Team Static…"

"You don't need Team Static to be a family, Paras. You'll always have Scyther, Snivy, and Wynaut. Team Static or no Team Static, there's no changing the fact that you've made a great family unit. And as I said before, it's okay if you don't want to evolve. Just leave it at not evolving."

"But if I do that, then all those poor Pokémon will… Pelame, you told me why I was betrayed. So, can you explain to me about evolution? Have I missed something?"

"Considering your species, I completely understand why you fear evolving so much. And I heard your friends state their grievances, too. But on the whole, evolution isn't harmful. In the case of your species, though, there's hope for you if you were to evolve after all. Particularly strong-willed members of your species can actually assert their will over the mushroom on their back when they become Parasect. In fact, that's what the Governor of Promised Land did. And the same is true about Fungus. He thought he was doomed, too, which was why he tried to use Jirachi to give parasitic mushrooms to everyone in the world. But then, Taiyang stopped him and talked him out of his mad plan."

"…I heard that Jirachi had granted a wish to lose his ability to grant wishes, which was what he himself wanted for a long time…"

"Exactly. That was the wish Taiyang made, knowing it was what Jirachi wanted. Fungus had also learned that evolution hadn't harmed him at all. And that's not all. The spoink species is a great case for evolution, too. Their hearts beat every time they bounce. If they don't bounce, their hearts don't beat, and they risk death by cardiac arrest. But when they evolve into grumpig, their hearts beat freely. And there's also the caterpie and weedle species. In both their middle stages, they're immobile cocoons. But once they're past that, they become mobile again, and a lot more likely to survive thanks to their newfound power and abilities. But again, it is still up to them to choose whether or not they want to evolve. It's neither right nor wrong to evolve. That's what I think about evolution, to be honest. It's not right, it's not wrong. It's just a possible part of life."

"Then… if I were to evolve…"

"You'd still be you, Paras. Your will is a strong one. Your mushroom will have no power over you. Like Promised Land's Governor, you could find a cooperative balance with your mushroom. Regardless, you'll still be you, the one Scyther, Snivy, and Wynaut value as a family member."

Paras had never heard it put so eloquently before. But now, he understood.

"Is there anything else you want to say, Pelame?"

"Not really."

"I see. I was hoping to hear more, honestly. You've really opened my eyes to a lot just now. I just wish I had the strength to help you dig us out of here. I want to get out so I can let my teammates know how sorry I am." Then, he got an idea. "Pelame, can you do me a favor?"

"Yes?"

"If possible, can you purge my Dark Blessing out of me? I don't want it anymore, nor do I need it. I no longer want to have anything to do with it. As an Alpha, you should be able to do it. It was even telling me to 'beware of you.'"

"Of course."

Pelame mustered up a large amount of Alpha power, coursing it through herself. She then made contact with Paras. In doing so, she created a conduit to connect her and his souls together. She searched for the tainted part of his soul, and she soon found it.

"Dark Blessing, begone from this poor Paras," she commanded at the darkness. At once, it retreated. Once it did, Pelame discontinued using her power. The purpose was fulfilled, and Paras was now purified.

"Thank you, Pelame," Paras said in the happiest tone Pelame had ever heard him speak in. "And I'm sorry for every bit of trouble I caused you."

Pelame responded to that with a hug. "Everything is fine, Paras."

At that moment, Tectarro broke through the fallen rocks and reached the two buried Pokémon.

"Finally found you two!" he said. "Let's get going."

Pelame nodded and followed, carrying Paras on her back. As they made their way to the surface, Paras helped treat the injuries he had given Pelame in their battle earlier. After some time walking, they finally reached the sunlight. Everyone else was waiting outside for them. Including the police. Paras got off Pelame's back and approached them.

"I willingly surrender to the law," he said. "I have done many awful things recently, and I'm ready to repay society for them. I will begin by permanently disbanding Team Static. I know now that I never needed Team Static to have a good family unit." He looked back toward Scyther, Snivy, and Wynaut. "I should've realized what I was doing harmed them, too. Along with everyone else I've harmed, they also have my deepest apologies."

"Same goes for us," said the other now-former Team Static admins. "We share the guilt of our boss."

Officer Ariados got to work cuffing three of the four Pokémon.

"Well, with behavior like this, maybe the judge will take it a bit easy on you," he said. "Besides, it's good to have well-behaved inmates." He then escorted them to the paddy wagon. Another officer placed Scyther in an ambulance van. Once the four were loaded inside the respective vehicles, they took off in the direction of the town's prison.

_"__Scyther… I'm sorry for hurting you…"_ Paras thought as he looked in the direction of the ambulance.

_"__Paras, thanks for returning to your old self…"_ Scyther thought as he looked in the direction of the paddy wagon.

"All right, so that's it for Team Static," Torden said with satisfaction. "When we have our victory dinner, I'm putting something special in my serving."

"By the way, what exactly happened down there?" Pugno asked. "Just now, Paras seemed to be acting like the nice guy his followers described him as being."

"I had a talk with him," Pelame answered. "And I purged the Dark Blessing out of him with my Alpha power."

"Wait— you can do that?!" Blessing asked incredulously. "That's incredible!"

"He asked me to purge it out of him, and I decided to give it a try. And it worked somehow. I wanted to help him. That's all there was to it."

"I think you did, Pelame," Pugno reassured. "Whatever you said to him, I hope he keeps your words to heart. If he does, then the future will be bright for him. For all four of them, actually."

"I think you're right, Pugno."

* * *

With the mission completed, Pelame and friends saw fit to eat out at Char Brothers for a victory dinner. Torden hit his spoon against his cup.

"Everyone, may I please have your attention?" he asked. "Anyone?" No one was responding. He then decided to sweeten the deal. "Who wants to meet the heroes who defeated Team Static?" All at once, everyone turned to face the table he was at. "Yep, that's right! We all took those thugs down together!"

Torden's comment got quite an ovation.

"And to celebrate the occasion, look what I got!" He then took out a plastic bag that had powder in it. He then poured it into his drink and mixed it. "Once my body digests this drink, I, Torden the pikachu, will become Torden the raichu. What better way to celebrate Team Static's downfall than by evolving? Am I right?" The other patrons applauded. "Now then, a toast to Pelame for defeating Paras! And also, a toast to the rest of us for taking out the mine!" All the patrons drank to the toast. To that, Torden drank the water he just spiked with the ground-up Thunderstone.

"Thanks, Torden," Pelame responded after drinking her water. "Although that was unnecessary, it was pretty neat. I'm gonna miss seeing you as a pikachu, but I'm sure I'll get used to you as a raichu."

"Yep, nothing will change about me. Other than the fact that I'll gain some centimeters in height… and also some kilograms in weight… to think I lost all that weight for nothing. Oh, well. Oh, and I almost forgot that I'll gain an awesome new tail! By the way, sorry for using up all that Thunderstone Powder."

"It's fine, Torden. I still haven't decided what I want to evolve into. For now, I think I'll just remain an eevee."

"Well, in any case, it's another bummer that we're heading back to a normal life soon."

"I don't mind that at all. I can do without another crazy adventure like this."

"Uh, Pelame?" Blessing prodded. "History major? That's _the_ profession for crazy adventure."

"Blessing, you and I have different definitions of 'crazy adventure.' At least if I go on archaeological trips, there won't be anything at stake. What we just went through now is like those gigantic quests characters from movies, TV, video games, and even Pocketurn folklore go through. And I'd love to never go on another one of _those_, thank you very much."

"I'm with you on that one, Pelame," Pugno responded. "Although I want to be a royal guard, I'd like to live as peaceful a life as I can. But even if another weird threat pops up, I think you'd be up to the task, Pelame. Not to mention you'll have my support."

"Yeah, Pelame," Blessing added. "You're the best!"

"I'm not afraid to admit it, Pelame, but you're awesome," Torden added.

All those compliments made Pelame blush. "Thanks, everyone."


	11. The End of the Term

Chapter 11 – The End of the Term

* * *

The Team Static incident had made it necessary for the Academy to call off Parent-Teacher Conference Week. Though she would've liked to see her parents then, Pelame was content to rest up for that holiday week, needing it after her showdown with Paras. Torden had stopped being a pikachu as he had wanted it. He immediately enjoyed his new raichu form. His voice and attitude were no different from before. Simpson and most of the students working on the Llyria Rocket were livid with Pelame for not being able to save the rocket. However, any student who didn't resent her for that (as well as any student she just couldn't please) had found a new respect for her, which she insisted on not hogging all to herself. All in all, life had returned to normal.

After two-and-a-half months, it was finally graduation week at Llyria Academy. Classes had ended on the previous Friday. All the students had already turned in their end-of-term assignments and taken their finals. Torden had achieved high marks in Professor Henry's technology class, Pugno aced Professor Aramir's combat class, and Blessing had surprisingly managed to get an above-average grade in Professor Euclid's Architecture class. Of course, it was no surprise to anyone that Pelame passed Professor Bibli's class with a completely perfect score. The four friends were definitely set to graduate.

However, as Parent-Teacher Conference Week had been canceled, that meant Torden would have to see his father today. All the parents had arrived for the upcoming graduation ceremony, including Torden's parents, to his surprise. It didn't make him happy to be seeing his father again. Even as he was being fitted for a graduation gown and cap, his mind was only on the upcoming visit.

"You'll have to face him sooner or later, Torden," Pugno said as he stepped out of the fitting room. "The ceremony is tomorrow. He'll likely be there along with your mom."

Torden said nothing to that. He opted to change the subject. "How do I look?"

"You look fine. But you're deep in thought about your dad. I can tell by your face. I remember you having that expression when you opened up about him—"

"You look great, too, Pugno. I think we're both ready to graduate now. They ought to reschedule the ceremony to today."

Pugno sighed in resignation. He knew he was getting nowhere with his friend. Unbeknownst to him, Torden had already made his mind up about something.

* * *

"I gotta admit, Pelame, I'm kinda jealous of the fact that you can handle those harsh things said to you by the science majors," Blessing said as she tried on her gown. "I mean, it's not _your_ fault the Llyria Rocket exploded. It's Paras's."

"It's all right, Blessing," Pelame responded. "I wouldn't like it if a project I spent semesters on was wrecked, either. Would you?"

"No, but I'd blame the culprit for it, not the bystander. After all, it was an accident." Blessing took a moment to admire herself. "By the way, how do I look in this?"

"You look great," Pelame answered. _"Please don't follow that question up with—_"

"You sure? It doesn't make my butt look big?"

_"__I hate vain questions like that…"_ Pelame then answered out loud. "No, it does not. And I don't want to look there, so don't ask me to."

"All right, then. And for the record, you look stunning in that gown, Pelame. Totally top student material!"

Pelame giggled at that compliment.

* * *

It was now 6:00PM in the evening of Sixthmonth 24th, 1512. Tomorrow would be the graduation day. Torden was now standing in front of the Llyria County's local Sing Inn, waiting for his chance. After about ten minutes, he took his chance. As soon as he saw his mom leave, he quickly snuck by her and propped the door open with his foot.

_"__Well, there's an advantage to my big walkers,"_ he thought to himself. He then grabbed the door and let himself in. To his surprise, no one was inside, though he heard a shower running. He remembered how his dad always showered before bed. _"I've got time. I'll wait him out. I always was the more patient one, anyway."_ To occupy himself, he got out a piece of paper and a pencil. With his new hands lacking fingers, he had to use a special pencil for Pokémon with no fingers. He slipped his left hand into the ring in the middle of the pencil. His penmanship hadn't diminished a bit as a result of his evolution. As he was writing, he heard the shower water stop, meaning his father was about done in the bathroom. The moment finally came, and his dad exited the bathroom. He took a look at the raichu in front of him and was confused.

"Pauline?" he asked. "Didn't I tell you to bring back some food? Or did you already?" Upon closer inspection, he noticed the pencil in the raichu's left hand. "Wait… you aren't…"

"Yes, Demetrius," Torden responded. "It's me, Torden. Your son."

Demetrius glared at his offspring. "No son of mine writes with his left. Nor does any son of mine enroll in a class taught by that hussy Adorbs. And also, nor does any son of mine work with a blinder. Who do you think you are, calling yourself my son?!"

"A contributing member of society," Torden answered with surprising calm. "Why can't you accept that it's moving forward? Why do you insist on living in the past, and why did you let those beliefs of yours cause you to abuse your family?"

"Abuse? You're calling everything I've ever done for you 'abuse?'"

"Well, what more appropriate word is there to describe forcing me to write with my right by sticking my left in a ball glove, sending me off to that slave camp of a school where I got caned for trivial but justified offenses—seriously, talking to the opposite gender was forbidden; what institution in their right mind does that?!—treating mom like an object rather than the family member she is, shunning any Shiny Pokémon who exists, and trying to get me to be you? You've never been a real dad to me, Demetrius. All you've been is a domestic abuser. I may be a raichu now, but I still have this scar to prove your abuse." He pulled back a section of fur on his left arm to reveal a small claw scar. "You're lucky I never showed this to anyone, or you'd be in jail."

Demetrius simply sighed. "See, this is why I didn't want you taking Adorbs's class. She indoctrinated you with this nonsense. That whole corrupt Academy brainwashed you!"

"You're wrong, Demetrius. I have felt this way about you my entire life, ever since you first saw me write with my left! Look, I know you were raised in a stricter time, but did you forget that you yourself were part of a new generation? Times change, Pokémon grow, and society progresses. And in time, we adapt to change. It's not just wild Pokémon that need to do that; all Pokémon do. But for some reason, _you_ wouldn't. And when it became clear to you that _I_ would move forward along with society, you stopped wanting to have anything to do with me. That's why you let me go to Llyria Academy, because you just wanted me out of your life. But even then, you still made one more attempt to control me. You tried many times to have the Academy put me in classes that conform to your ridiculous standards. Even they knew you were full of it, so they kindly refused your requests. In all the time I attended Llyria Academy, I've never felt a greater sense of belonging and support. Professor Adorbs and Professor Henry have both been some of the most supportive Pokémon I've ever known. If I had gotten such support from you, I wouldn't feel so harshly about you. But what you did wasn't support. You've tried everything you could to hold me back and turn me into some kind of fundamentalist. If anyone's 'brainwashed' me, it's you."

Demetrius said nothing to that.

"But saying that I hate you would be too strong a way to phrase how I feel about you. After all, as I said before, I understand why you're who you are. I can't blame you for being a product of your time. I had just hoped you would let the past be the past, so you could raise a happy family. If you can't be proud of me for disobeying you about class enrollment, then can you be proud of me for helping stop Team Static, or for creating a helpful computer program and a popular website?"

"Absolutely not," Demetrius answered. "There is no making up for associating with blinders, females, and advocates for corrupt modern society. My son is a Pokémon who would know that."

"Well then, you never had a son."

Demetrius's glare hardened as Torden continued speaking.

"I will always appreciate the forward direction society is going. I always have. You never had a son who lived in the past. You have a son who was reluctantly willing to put up with your hot air for years if it meant the happiness of his parents. But no one in your household was happy except yourself. I wasn't happy, and mom wasn't happy. One of these days, you'll lose her, too. And you'll only have yourself to blame."

Demetrius snapped at that, retaliating with a Fire Fang attack. Torden anticipated this and blocked it with a timely use of Protect just as his mother entered the room with some groceries.

"This is your problem. Excessive physical violence at the dumbest of provocations. You've bitten me many times with that Fire Fang of yours. But it won't work on me anymore."

At that, Demetrius gave up.

"I see how it is, Torden. And you're right: I never had a son. Pauline is my only family."

"Fair enough. Then let's both stay out of each others' lives."

Torden then exited the Inn room. Pauline waved goodbye to the son she saw her husband disown.

"I love you, my boy."

"What was that?" Demetrius said threateningly to his wife, who instantly got to work preparing dinner.

* * *

"I see…" Henry sadly responded after Torden recounted the earlier confrontation. "Well, Torden, it's good you finally let him know all that and handled it so well."

"Yeah…" Torden said. "You know, Professor, you've always been like the father I always wanted but never had. You've always supported me in everything I did. To me… well… you're more than just a professor."

Henry didn't know how he would respond to such a giant compliment. He called after his pupil as he started to leave.

"Torden? Look… if you need somewhere to stay then…" Henry stammered. "Then… why not stay here with me? I'd be happy to share my household with you."

"Wh-what?! You really mean that?!"

"Certainly!"

"Well, how could I say 'no' to that?"

Henry and Torden exchanged a quick hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow at the ceremony!" Torden said as he left.

"I'm looking forward to it!" Henry responded.

* * *

At 7:00PM, Pinna and Neve arrived at Pelame's dorm, ecstatic to see their daughter again.

"_There's _my little girl!" Pinna said, giving his daughter a hug.

"Pinna, she isn't our little girl anymore," Neve scolded. "She's our young lady!"

The family group hug lasted for a couple more seconds.

"I'm so happy to see you again!" Pelame greeted. "It's been too long."

"Likewise," Pinna responded. "We came to see our young lady graduate. Suma Cum Laude in History sure is a prestige. As is taking on Team Static."

"We heard all about it when we got into town," Neve added. "We're so proud of you!"

"Mom, I can't take all the credit," Pelame modestly answered back. "I had lots of help. Plus, Paras disbanded the team himself."

"Nevertheless, you still played a valuable part in their downfall," Pinna summated. "I heard from Professor Bibli that you drove out some kind of weird power out of him. A 'Dark Blessing,' right?"

"Yeah. It was a weird experience, but it was somehow refreshing. It's like his soul connected with mine."

"Sure sounds mysterious. Hopefully one day all this craziness can be solved. But if anyone can solve it, it'll be you, Pelame."

"Ehehehe… maybe…"

* * *

At the same time Pelame's family reunited, so did Pugno's.

"Well, well, look at our little guard-in-training," Beltier and Jackle greeted upon entering the dorm.

"Mom! Dad!" Pugno cried, hugging his parents. "It's been ages!"

"My goodness," Jackle said. "Your hugging sure feels tighter. Your muscles really developed."

"Yeah… I've been working out a lot. Professor Aramir was quite a firm Sifu."

"I bet."

"I'd love to meet the guy," Beltier responded. "From your letters to us throughout the semester, he seemed to be a great match for you."

"Oh, he's amazing!" Pugno reminisced in excitement. "He taught me all kinds of stuff! I'll show you after the ceremony."

"Sounds good, son."

* * *

As the soon-to-be-graduates agreed, they all decided to treat their families to dinner at Café Flabébé. Pelame, Pugno, Torden, and Blessing were far from the only students who had that idea, as the restaurant was packed near to capacity. This added lots of time to the waiting for their food, and therefore lots of time to catch up.

"Well, your final semester went smoothly," Neve said. "I mean, despite the Team Static incident."

"That sure must've been some fight," Pinna added. "I wish I could've been here to see it. Nevertheless, I sure am proud of you, Pelame."

"Hey, don't give the credit just to _your_ kid, Pinna," Beltier interjected. "From what Pugno said, everyone played a part in Team Static's downfall."

"Yeah, like how Torden charged an Iron Tail EMP," Henry added. "That sure was awesome of you, sport." He gave Torden an affectionate pat on the shoulder.

"By the way, Henry, how's that adoption thing working out?" Blessing asked.

"Oh, it'll go through in a week or so, once I fill the paperwork out. I just wonder how good a parent I'll be." He turned to Professor Adorbs. "I'll come to you for help if I need any."

"I'm flattered," Adorbs said, blushing. "But really, Henry, it's not hard to raise a child. Besides, you'll soon have a wife."

"I WHAT?!" Henry was shocked to hear this. As far as he was aware, no one had any romantic feelings toward him. "Who is it?"

"That would be me," said a raichu who took the saved seat at the table.

"Mom?" Torden exclaimed.

"So, I'm gonna be his stepdad?" Henry asked incredulously. "But isn't that bigamy?"

"No, it isn't. Demetrius kicked me out of the motel we were staying in once he saw me cry after Torden left last night. He didn't give me time to explain. He just threatened to break my neck with his Fire Fang attack if I didn't get out of his sight that moment, adding that anyone who pities sympathizers of those he hates should be executed. For my own safety, I got an annulment from my marriage to him."

"Aren't you worried he'll find out?"

"No. I don't fear him anymore. It was only because I was afraid of him before that I let him do all those terrible things to Torden. The boarding school that beat him for anything they could think of, his beating of him for much the same thing; our house was an abusive one. By all rights, Child Services should've been called long ago. It was only because we were both too afraid to make a report to the police. He ruled us with fear and force."

"Well, I promise not to be _anything_ like that. I'd like to be the father Torden always wanted. Will you marry me?"

With happy tears in her eyes, Pauline said "Yes!"

Soon after the proposal, everyone's food arrived. Since Pauline was an unexpected guest, she had to make an extra order for her own dinner. Torden immediately dug into his food.

"Aren't you going to wait until your mom's food arrives?" Pugno asked in a somewhat offended tone.

"I'm starving, Pugno!" Torden complained as a response.

"Well, at least show some manners in front of your new family."

"That's my boy…" Pauline said. "It's kinda nice seeing him act like his true self. Get used to that, Henry."

"Oh, I have in the time I've known him as a student," Henry replied.

Everyone had a hearty laugh at that. Once Pauline's food arrived, they all had their dinner.

* * *

The big day finally arrived. Sixthmonth 25th, 1512 was the date and 10:00AM was the time for all the students to get ready for the ceremony, which was to occur at 12:00PM. As soon as the students got into their gowns and caps, they were off to the island in the middle of Lake Llyria. Seeing that island brought back lots of memories for all the students, but most especially Pelame and Pugno.

_"__My dreams began coming true on that island,"_ Pelame wistfully thought. _"It's been three years already."_ She pulled out her anthology book and took a look at the blank spot. No new words had appeared in it since the Team Static incident, but she was still happy to have gotten somewhere in solving that mystery. But now that she was graduating, where would she go from there? She couldn't worry about that now. And meanwhile, Pugno was reminiscing as well.

_"__The Lake where my training _really_ started…,"_ he remembered. "_I can't wait to show Captain Keldeo my new moves."_ His parents were certainly impressed when he demonstrated to them last night, giving him a vote of confidence. But like his girlfriend, he was now focused on the graduation ceremony.

Now was the anticipated time. The small stage in the middle of the plaza was now much bigger and more ornate. All of the students packed the plaza to capacity, as the families of the grads did the same for the bleachers. Whenever a student's name was called along with any special achievement titles they earned, the family member of that student cheered the loudest of all of them. But then, this happened.

"Pelame," Professor Kudzu called. "Summa Cum Laude. History Department top student." At that, Pinna practically deafened everyone nearby with his uproarious cheering for his daughter.

"YOU'RE THE BEST, SWEETIE!" he cried. Pelame turned to smile and wave at him after receiving her diploma. She also directed a quick "shush" gesture at him. On the other hand, Pugno's parents were much more modest.

"Pugno," Professor Kudzu called. "Summa Cum Laude. Combat Department top student." While Jackle and Beltier's cheering was loud, it was nowhere near to Pinna's extent.

"Torden," Professor Kudzu continued after Pugno got his diploma and took his seat. "Cum Laude. Technology Department top ten placer." Henry and Pauline cheered for their son.

"Blessing. Cum Laude. Archaeology Department top fifteen placer." Professor Adorbs cheered for her daughter.

"Kasumi. Magna Cum Laud—"

Suddenly, there was a scream from the bleachers, getting everyone's attention. A manectric was using Fire Fang to bite down on a raichu's left arm as two vigoroth security guards caught up to him and began prying him off. Torden knew exactly what was going on, so he went up to the bleachers. While he was getting there, Henry stepped in to try to defend his fiancée, only to receive a Flamethrower for his trouble. It was then that Torden stepped in between them and used Protect. He then followed up with a Flash. With Demetrius temporarily blinded, the vigoroth guards cuffed him.

"This is all your fault!" he screamed in a random direction. "You stole my family from me!"

"No, Demetrius," Torden said. "You drove your own family away with your forceful ways. Now, mom and I belong to a kinder family." He then addressed the guards. "Take him away."

"With pleasure," officer Vigoroth answered. "We got a special place for domestic abusers." And so they were off with Demetrius ranting and raving. Torden then went to his parents.

"I'll be fine, son," Pauline said. "Thanks for your help. Now go with your fellow students."

"Okay, mom," Torden answered. "Dad, look after her, okay?"

"I will," Henry replied.

With that interruption over, the ceremony got to conclude.

* * *

Soon after the ceremony ended, Pelame, Pugno, Blessing, and Torden went to Lake Llyria with their families. They wished to create one final memory to share before going on their separate ways. All the parents had finished setting their cameras up and got into the picture once the timers were activated.

"Blessing, please face forward this time," Pugno advised.

"Just this once, only 'cause our families are here," Blessing responded.

"Okay. Smile," Pelame said. Everyone smiled pleasantly as the cameras took their photo. Surprisingly, Blessing cooperated with Pugno.

"Parents only now!" Pinna suggested. The graduates left the picture and let their folks have this next picture to themselves. "All righty! Kids only now!" And at that, the graduates gathered around to have their very own picture.

"Excellent work, everyone," Pinna congratulated. "Now then, I think it's time we roasted our marshmallows before any wild Pokémon snatch them up." On that note, the adults were off to their campground. "Be careful, kids. And have fun!"

"We will, dad," Pelame responded. She then went with her pals to their own campground.

That night, the graduates gathered around their campfire, roasting marshmallows. Pugno had bent one of the skewers in a way so that Pelame could grip it.

"Thanks, Pugno," she said.

"No problem, Pelame," Pugno responded. He then addressed Blessing. "Blessing, thanks for cooperating for those pictures."

"Yeah, sure," she said, slightly dismayed. "Though I don't like denying any camera the sight of my beautiful bottom."

"Blessing, don't you think everyone's seen your 'beautiful bottom' enough times already?" Torden asked. "I mean, for the entire time we've known you, you've flaunted it around worse than how I gloated that I had a first-run widescreen TV."

"Hey, when you have a figure as male-gazeworthy as mine, why _not_ show it off? Besides, the scar I got on it from Team Static sure is a nice touch, right?"

To that, no response came from anyone.

"Puh. Whatever."

"Thing is, Blessing," Pelame said. "I'd like to remember you for more than just the fact that you have an abnormally big rear end. And the fact that you kept turning it to the camera every time I took your picture until now really had been crushing that desire. Every picture of you that will be going into my Llyria Academy photo album will be having your rear in it."

"Well, what else about me is worth remembering, Pelame?"

"Lots of stuff! All the class projects you did with us, all the movies you went out with us to see, all the games of _Dodrio Talon Trot_ we played,…"

"Ah. I get it. I agree; those were fun times."

"_That's_ the kind of thing I'll remember you by, Blessing."

"Well, you don't have to say it like that, as if we're never going to meet again. We're all pals here. We can meet any time… But… until then, I'll miss you guys. Except for you, Torden, since you'll be moving here to Llyria County."

"Yeah. I'll sure miss you, Pelame and Pugno," Torden added.

"We'll miss you, too," Pelame and Pugno said to Blessing and Torden. Torden then went to go poke the fire with his skewer to turn the firewood over. Suddenly, a cry of pain came from the ground under the fire pit.

"Hey, did you guys hear something?" he asked. Just then, Weston emerged from the ground, to everyone's surprise. "Weston? What were you doing in the ground?"

"I figured I'd play a harmless prank on you guys," Weston explained.

"By being our campfire?" Blessing asked incredulously. "So we've been eating marshmallows heated by your—"

"You know my flame doesn't work that way, Blessing. But yes, that's what I was doing."

"So, when were you going to reveal yourself?" Pugno asked. "Hopefully before you suffocated."

"Oh, I had air down there. I dug an air hole. I didn't plan on revealing myself, at least not until I got skewered."

"Yeah… sorry about that," Torden said. "You okay, Firebutt?"

Weston shot a quick glare at Torden for the nickname. He then placed a hand on the source of his flame and the looked at his hand once he put it in front of his face. "Yep, no blood. I'm fine," he answered. "I'd never know if I was bleeding. My flame would cauterize it immediately. And Torden, would you _please_ stop calling me that?"

"Sorry, but it's just such a fun thing to say…"

"Well, then refer to me as that in private conversation. I just don't like hearing it myself."

"Okay. If you say so. By the way, Weston, you're just in time for a special treat." Torden then went to the cooler he brought with him and brought out four metal canteens. He then poured the contents of one of them into the four small glasses on the table. "Sorry there's no glass for you, Weston, but you have a canteen."

"What _is_ that stuff?" Pelame asked. "It smells awful!"

"Oooh, _someone_ sure is adverse to alcohol. These are straight from the Twilight Kingdom's booze capital: Dustin Iced Teas!"

"Wait, Dustin?!" Pugno asked in shock. "Torden, you _do_ know that those are made out of all the strongest alcoholic drinks, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Torden, are you trying to kill yourself? If you've never had alcohol before, Dustin Iced Teas are the worst ones to start with."

"Well, why do you think I'm starting with this barely-the-size-of-my-hand glass here?" At that, Torden gulped it down before Pugno could stop him. He slightly convulsed from the bitter taste. "Whoa, that's rough. You gonna have yours?"

"No thanks," Pugno answered.

"I won't be seen dead drinking it," Pelame curtly replied.

"Just a quick sip for me," Blessing answered.

"A quick sip for me, too," Weston added.

"All righty, then," Torden said, pouring out the appropriate denominations, including another helping for himself. "Bottoms up!"

The three then drank their shots, convulsing at the bitter taste.

"Sheesh, I'm surprised Blessing didn't take that literally," Pelame whispered to Pugno, who nodded in response.

"How my stomach didn't explode just now is a miracle," Weston said.

"Well, I know what drink I'll live happily without ever drinking again," Blessing added.

"Can't handle it?" Torden teased as he poured himself another helping. "This stuv's amaving!" He then drank his third helping, and then a fourth soon after.

* * *

After five helpings, Torden could drink no more. It only took that many to inebriate him.

"Hey, did annyon e-er wonner why widesreen mooies haa those black bars on the top and bottuuh uhthe screen?" Torden asked. "I mean, when will the Taailight Kinggum g—*hic* give widesreen TVs? I wanna watch _Charge Brothers_ as iwaz meant to be see-see…" Torden crossed his legs. "Jussa sec." He got up and hobbled toward the bushes, but then fell over. Pugno and Blessing came forth to help him to the bushes. Once they brought him there, they let him have his moments alone.

"So, how is that stuff?" Pugno asked.

"Bitter," Blessing answered. "If I ever booze, I'd like it to be something that's much lighter, and I certainly wouldn't binge myself to—" She gestured toward Torden, who was currently relinquishing a lot of his stomach's contents. "…that point."

"Me neither. In fact, Pelame and I both hate alcohol. It tastes like so many of the worst-tasting medicines in the world. I actually imagine that being what it would taste like if you were to orally take a medicine not meant for the mouth."

"Heh. That sure is a way to put it."

Suddenly, Blessing felt a sharp pain in her behind. "YOW!" She quickly turned around and noticed Torden was holding one of her tail feathers in his hand.

"Hey, Blessing, whya got feathers, huh?" he asked. "You related to a Flyin'-dype Pokémon, or sommin'? Yapart pidgeot er what?"

"No, I'm not, Torden," Blessing answered, snatching back her tail feather. "And thanks for that sharp pain in my butt, boozo!" She then fitted her tail feather back where it belonged. "You're lucky it hasn't been long enough for me not to fit that back in. You almost ruined one of my body's best features!"

"What're feathers, any-yay? Like, birr-fur? Is fur too good for birrs? Is feathers too good fo—*hic* Feathers're cool! I wannahavefeathers!"

"I think you need to go to bed, Torden," Pugno said. "You've had too much to drink."

"NoIdin't! I only— *belch* I'm thirsty! I'm nahsleepy! I castayufer hours! Sleep's for weakings!"

"_Sure_ it is, Torden," Blessing replied sarcastically. "Now come along." She and Pugno guided Torden back to the tent area.

"How is he?" Pelame asked.

"No better than before," Pugno answered. "He plucked out one of Blessing's tail feathers shortly after he relieved himself."

"Luckily I was able to place it back in," Blessing added. "As long as a plucked feather goes back into where it goes within two minutes, it can be saved. But still, it really hurt." At that moment, she cringed slightly. "And is sure is gonna be the biggest patience test ever not to scratch the resulting itch." She barely stopped herself from giving in to the urge to scratch. "Ugh… By the way, where's Weston?"

"He had to go back to his dorm," Pelame answered. "He still has one year left here, after all."

"Then won't be get in trouble for drinking with us?"

"No, he's of legal age."

"Oh, that's good. Jail's no place for a good kid like him, especially considering his dream to be a cop. Please tell me one of you brought a punch bowl or something."

"Not me."

"Nope," Pugno added.

"I'd ask Torden, but I think he's asleep," Blessing said, letting out a sigh afterward. "I'll be right back…" She then left the tent.

"Well, this sure was an interesting night, huh?" Pugno asked Pelame.

"Yeah, up until Torden fell victim to those Dustin Iced Teas," Pelame answered. "But overall, this was a fun day. I'm glad we got to go back to a normal life after the Team Static incident."

"Me, too. I mean, I don't want a mundane life, myself. However, I'd like a memorable life."

"I'd like a safe life. I don't like that feeling of constantly being in danger. When Team Static was around, I couldn't get rid of that uneasy feeling. I don't know how you stayed so comfortable, Pugno, but I envy you for that."

"Well, although I was more at-ease than you were, I was scared, too. When the mine collapsed, a part of me thought you got buried. All the time we contended with them, I worried about you. And like you, I was also definitely worried about the consequences of Paras succeeding in Operation Everstone. So, I was as relieved as you were when they got arrested."

"Yeah. I'm just hoping that wherever I end up working, I don't end up in the middle of some big debacle like that. I've heard that the Trailblazing International Guild of Historical Studies has had a reputation for being a safe place to work, so I've thought of applying there."

"Oh, they'd _better_ accept you. But back to the point, being a Royal Guard definitely isn't a safe job. But it's my dream. Somehow, it doesn't worry me the danger that I'll be facing. I mean, it might not be as ludicrous as the Team Static incident, but still. But no matter how crazy things get, I'll do my best to stay alive. After all, I don't want to die on you, Pelame."

"Same goes for me."

As the two lovingly stared into each others' eyes, they went in for a kiss.

"Well, look what I hobbled into," Blessing said, entering the tent. Pelame and Pugno ended their kiss at that moment. "You won't do that in front of me, but you'll do that in front of a drunk and unconscious Torden?"

"We didn't see you come in," Pelame explained. "Also, why are you wearing a punch bowl on your posterior end?"

"Because I needed a way to keep me from scratching that itch on my tail feather area. My claws can't get through this thick glass."

"How did you even fit into that thing?"

"I'll spare you the details, Pelame. I gotta say, it's working out for me so far. But, boy is it humiliating. I feel like all those slapstick actors from five decades ago right now."

"And how will you remove it once you no longer need it?" Pugno asked.

"I'll worry about that tomorrow morning. It sure will be uncomfortable sleeping with a glass bowl on my butt, but what else can I do to save my tail feather?"

"Sheesh, the lengths you go to to preserve your looks…"

"Hey, I gotta look my best for all occasions. Good night." With that, she wriggled herself into her sleeping bag and went to sleep.

"Well, I think it's about time we turned in, too," Pugno noted. "Good night, Pelame."

"Good night, Pugno," Pelame responded back.

* * *

Blessing was the first one to awaken. Her rear end was quite chafed from wearing a makeshift cast on it all night, so she went outside to remedy that.

_"__All right, time to put that Rock Smash training video to use,"_ she mentally noted. "_Claws, do your thing."_

The sound of the glass breaking woke Pelame, Pugno, and Torden up instantly. Blessing reentered the tent at that moment. "Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning, Blessing," Pelame and Pugno greeted.

"Good morning," Torden said with lots of lethargy. "I heard you break a window earlier, so thanks for adding _that_ to my headache."

"Wow, Torden, hung over much?" Blessing responded. "And by the way, that wasn't a window I broke. See, _you_ plucked off one of my beautiful tail feathers last night while you were drunk, so I had to stuff my butt into a glass punch bowl so I couldn't scratch my tail feathers clean off of it."

"How did you fit it onto that giant seat of yours?"

"Easy. I jumped butt-first into it, like Minus did in the silent film rip-off episode of _Charge Brothers_. And yes, it aches like crazy." She rubbed her bottom to relieve the chafing. "It can't be as bad as how much your head must be hurting again."

"Yeah… worst headache ever. I hardly even have the energy to stand up. Just gotta rest…" Torden fell back asleep.

"So, you two are looking healthy," Blessing said to Pelame and Pugno. "Good choice staying away from those Dustin Iced Teas."

"Well, we wanted to be healthy to say goodbye," Pelame responded. "Once our families get here, we're all leaving."

"Oh… that's right…" Blessing sounded sad upon noting that. "Isn't that them now?" She pointed at the four cars that had pulled up near the camping area. Two of them were packed near to capacity, with just enough room for one more passenger each.

"Good morning, Pelame," Pinna greeted from one of the cars. "Ready to put some road behind us?"

"Just a sec, dad," Pelame answered back. She turned back to Blessing. "Well, Blessing, I guess this is goodbye for now."

"But only for now," Blessing reassured. "We have each others' phone numbers. We can stay in touch. Still, it just won't be the same as you and Pugno not physically being here."

"I agree," Pugno added. "Life sure will be quieter without you and Torden constantly around, but it'll be a bit lonely because of it."

"Heh, that's a creative way to put it. But yeah, it sure is gonna kill me to wait until our next meeting. So, until then…"

The three friends went in for a group hug which was joined by Torden a few seconds later.

"Good luck, you two."

"Thanks. And same to you two," Pelame and Pugno said.

The group hug ended and the friends entered each of their families' cars. Adorbs and Henry drove off in the direction of Llyria Academy Campus while Pinna and Neve drove off in the direction leading back to Promised Land, with Jackle and Beltier following along.

"Hey dad," Pugno said. "Thanks for letting us use your tent."

"No problem, sport," Jackle responded.

From their seats in their families' cars, Pelame and Pugno took one last look at Llyria County.

"Oh, Pelame," Neve said. "We brought a letter for you from the King."

"Excuse me?!" Pelame said in shock. "King Kangaskhan II wrote to me?!" She took the letter and tore the envelope open. She set the paper on the back of her mom's seat and read it aloud.

_"__To Pelame,_

_I regret not being able to meet you during the last Genesis Day. And now that you've saved my country, as well as possibly the world, from what Team Static had planned, that regret has grown. Of course, I am a busy King, so I hope you understand why I couldn't personally thank you for your heroic efforts. I hope you can settle for a letter. Anyway, I thank you on behalf of my country for putting an end to Team Static.  
As one of the World Leaders, I am indeed an Alpha-type. But you and all of Pocketurn know that already. I was surprised to hear you are also an Alpha. I must admit that I'm very curious about this, and I'm sure you are, too. But between us, I am the more experienced Alpha, which is why I'd be more than happy to train you in your Alpha power. I don't know much about that 'Dark Blessing,' but from all the coverage of the Team Static incident, it sounds tenacious. Please do write back with an answer. Whatever you decide, it'll be fine with me. And even if you refuse, I'll leave the offer open in case you change your mind. It's up to you._

_Sincerely,  
King Kangaskhan II of the Twilight Kingdom Royal Family_

_P.S.: This is Captain Keldeo writing now. Tell your dad I said 'hi!'"_

Pelame was feeling a mix of flattery and bewilderment. Lots of things were running through her head at this moment.

"Wow. My daughter, thanked by the King himself," Pinna said proudly. "And what an offer that is! Want to take it?"

Pelame snapped back to reality at that question.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Neve said, sensing her daughter's hesitation.

"Whew…," Pelame responded in relief. "Yeah, I'll have to turn him down for now. I'd like to focus on the Trailblazing Guild for now."

"Good idea, sweetheart," Pinna responded. "It's never a good idea to lapse from one major struggle directly into another. Just rest up for now."

And so, the trip back to Promised Land began. Neither she nor Pugno would ever forget their experiences nor their friends from the Academy. But their hopes were very high for now, as they knew their lives would truly begin.


	12. TIGHS

Chapter 12 – The Trailblazing International Guild of Historical Studies

* * *

_"__To His Royal Majesty King Kangaskhan II,_

_I'm very flattered you saw fit to thank me for my efforts to stop Team Static, even though I don't deserve all the credit. And I'm also very flattered that you offered to train me in my Alpha powers. But unfortunately, I have to refuse that offer. The Team Static incident really had an adverse effect on me. I'm just not ready for such a violent event like that again. I don't know if I'd be able to handle it. For now, I just want to take a break from all this craziness and focus on historical studies. I hope you understand. Thanks for the offer, though. Who knows? Maybe I'll change my mind someday. You never know in this crazy world of ours…_

_Sincerely,  
Pelame"_

Captain Keldeo had just finished reading Pelame's reply letter to King Kangaskhan II. Neither one of them looked too pleased with her answer.

"Poor girl…" said the King. "She wants a peaceful life, too."

"No Pokémon wouldn't, sire," Keldeo added. "Even if it would make for a boring job for me and my Elite Nine."

"Won't that number increase soon? You told me you got an application letter from that Pugno boy, the winner of the last Genesis Day Tournament."

"Oh, right! Thanks for reminding me, sire! I'll go get ready to greet him now." Keldeo left the throne room to fulfill the appointment. The King then got to work in looking over the new propositions and measures, along with his vizier.

"Primary season…" he sighed in frustration.

"I know how you feel, sire," said his persian vizier.

"Feel free to leave this all to me, Twarkleton."

"Oh, no, sire. I'm happy to help."

* * *

Keldeo had reached the courtyard grounds to meet up with his Elite Nine Royal Guards. "Roll call!" he ordered.

"Seti!" said the male Furfrou with the Pharaoh trim.

"Leona!" said the female Furfrou with the Debutante trim.

"Walton!" said the female Furfrou with the Matron trim.

"Sugimori!" said the male Furfrou with the Kabuki trim.

"Patra!" said the female Furfrou with the Heart trim.

"Antoinette!" said the female Furfrou with the La Reine trim.

"Value!" said the female Furfrou with the Diamond trim.

"Galileo!" said the male Furfrou with the Star trim.

"Hearst!" said the male Furfrou with the Dandy trim.

"Perfect. All right, everyone," he began. "In about fifteen minutes, a new applicant will be arriving. With some simple math, I have determined that to be the case judging by the time I received his letter and application. So while I evaluate him, I will be leaving you all in charge of the new trainee we got last week. Make sure you take good care of him. Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" said the Elite Nine.

"Excellent. Now then, back to patrol with us—"

"Captain Keldeo, sir!" said a raticate who ran into the courtyard. "It's an emergency! Quick! We need you!"

"What happened, Sentry?"

"A rogue has broken into the grounds! He's trying to get into the castle!"

"Elite Nine!"

"Sir!" the Elite Nine responded.

"We're off!"

* * *

A male skuntank had just subdued a few more guards with his Flamethrower attack. He had managed to reach the front door of the castle.

"King Kangaskhan II, you reign ends today," he announced.

"Oh, does it now?" Captain Keldeo retorted. "Sorry, but if I can help it, he'll continue to rule."

Keldeo blasted the rogue skuntank with a Focus Blast.

"He's yours, everyone!"

"Sir!" said the Elite Nine as they blasted the criminal with their Charge Beams, paralyzing him on the spot. They took their chance to tie him up and slap a PP-Zero Bracelet onto his right hind leg.

"You ten sure seem happy to take orders and not think for yourselves!" he shouted. "You happy being slaves, huh?! Slaves to another Pokémon when you could be your own frmmmff—" A Lum Scarf was stuffed into his mouth by Walton. Hearst then tied another one over his mouth, completely muzzling the criminal.

"Help me bring him to the King," Keldeo ordered. As the ten escorted the criminal to the throne room, Keldeo filled his guards in. "I was tipped off about this jerk. He made an attempt to assassinate mayor Wheat of Pathway last week. He didn't succeed, but he did manage to kill one of Mr. Wheat's bodyguards, as well as some of the populace on his way. If it were up to me, I'd execute this guy right now."

"Ymm, m—"

"Silence!" Keldeo said as he kicked the criminal's side. "Here we are." They had reached the throne room. "Sire! We apprehended a criminal who claimed to want to assassinate you!"

"Excellent work, Keldeo," the King congratulated. "I've heard of him, too. You can take him to the Interrogation Chambers. He doesn't look strong enough to withstand your techniques."

"Yes, sire. It'll give me great pleasure." Keldeo then knocked the criminal unconscious. "Elite Nine, when Pugno arrives, let him know that I'll meet him as soon as I can," he ordered. He then went into a secret door behind one of the throne room's curtains, taking the unconscious rebel with him. The secret door led to a secret elevator that went down into the castle's dungeon. Keldeo took his prisoner to a room deep inside, removing the Lum Scarves while keeping him tied up. The prisoner then awakened.

"Yep, you're definitely civilized," he said to the Captain. "Only a civilized Pokémon would pass up a chance to finish another Pokémon off."

"If you died now, so would any information you have," Keldeo retorted. "And I am going to persuade you to talk, so I suggest you make it easy on both of us. Otherwise, I can't guarantee your safety…"

* * *

"Isn't this exciting?" Pinna asked in a chipper tone as he drove the family down the highway toward the Ville du Soleil Couchant. "Going to the Capital itself. I haven't been within those giant walls in years, not since I was still in the service."

"Well, I'm definitely full of anticipation," Neve responded. "This'll be the first time I ever get to see the Capital of the Twilight Kingdom."

"Me, too," Pelame added. "I've always wanted to see our nation's Capital. Are we there, yet, dad? The wait's been killing me."

"Don't worry, Pelame," Pinna answered his daughter. "TIGHS isn't going anywhere within three hours. We'll beat them by two-and-a-half. Believe me, Pelame, I'm excited, too."

The family members sighed wistfully. Neve and Pelame went through many scenarios in their heads about what the city would be like. And within thirty minutes, they finally arrived at the border into the city. The car was inspected by the golduck working at the border patrol.

"Yep, you're good to go," he said to Pinna. "Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you, sir," Pinna said, paying the golduck 15 Pokéns. "Just a small treat for you."

"Thanks!"

As Pinna drove into the city, Neve and Pelame couldn't believe what they were seeing. The Ville du Soleil Couchant was even better than they daydreamed about. Pelame gushed over just about everything the city had to show.

As they entered the Middle District: "There's where the Twilight Kingdom's first film theatre opened! There it is, there! See it? Did you see it?"

As they entered the Lake Area: "And there's the Sunset Lake! Lots of this country's most influential speeches were given at that shore right there!"

As they got to the Castle District, Pelame looked toward the mountain overlooking the city: "And there's the Arceus Monument! The gift from Arceus himself to the Twilight Kingdom Royal Family for their devotion to him! That's why the country's law says that no Pokémon-built structure is to be higher than the highest point of the statue. Granted, it _is_ hard to build something taller than 775 meters, which constitutes Mount Twilight, and the other 40 meters constituting the statue, totaling 815 meters in height. Isn't it amazing?! Oh, seeing it for myself is a dream come true!"

"Sheesh, Pelame, you know more about this city than the King," Pinna joked. "If you're done with your fangirling, we're at our stop." He parked at a Sing Inn located a little ways from the castle's walls. "We'll set our stuff here, get you to a boutique that'll get you looking your best, then go to the TIGHS HQ for your interview. Sound like a plan?"

"Definitely!"

"All righty, then. Let's get to it."

* * *

"So how did it go?" Walton asked as Captain Keldeo entered the grounds.

"I got nowhere…" Keldeo answered bitterly. "That guy's an obstinate little rebel. Point-blank Focus Blasts didn't convince him to say anything. But he ought to talk once I waterboard him with my Aqua Jet. That always gets our enemies talking."

"I hate when our enemies resist. I mean, really, they think their information is worth guarding with their lives… But anyway, Pugno's here. He's been very patient."

* * *

"…despite that, though, those Eon Triad flunkies didn't stand a chance," Seti boasted to Pugno. The other Elite Nine guards nodded in proud agreement.

"Kiddo, if the Cap accepts you, that's the kind of madness you'll be dealing with," Galileo said. "Hope you're ready. And speaking of the Cap, here he is."

"Sir!" said the furfrou guards as Keldeo arrived on the training area. Walton joined them as they saluted by standing straight.

"At ease, soldiers," Keldeo responded, causing the soldiers to loosen up. He then looked at Pugno. "Long time, no see, Genesis Day Champ. How have you been?"

"Hopefully at the top of my game," Pugno answered, bowing to the Captain.

"No need for that, Pugno. But anyway, I've heard that you were a help during the Team Static Incident. As for whether or not you're at the top of your game, I'll be the judge of that. We will not be sparring, however. What I'd like you to do is appeal to me by way of fighting style."

"He can practice on me if he wants," Value volunteered.

"That won't be necessary. He will not be practicing on anyone. Is that okay with you, Pugno?"

"Yes, sir," Pugno answered.

"Okay, Elites, give him room." The Elites did as told. "Okay, Pugno. Show me what you've got."

Pugno then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He assumed the Crane Stance as his routine started with, and started generating a small Aura Sphere with his left hand. He kicked with his bent right leg, put it back on the ground, and did a Low Sweep attack with his left foot. He finished by releasing the Aura Sphere from his left hand and delivering a Power-Up Punch with his fisted right hand.

_"__Aramir, thanks for your help with this,"_ he thought as he concluded, awaiting the Captain's judgement. He got a bit excited when he saw the Elite Nine chattering among themselves after he'd finished his routine.

"Well, that sure was something else," Keldeo said in an impressed tone. "Every bit the Genesis Day Champion I fought all those years ago."

"Thanks, sir! I worked really hard on this! Was I too tense? I had that problem last time I showed this routine?"

"Certainly not. It was very well-done. It wasn't flawless, however."

Pugno was taken aback to hear that.

"Yes, it was an impressive routine free of tension, which is the trap I've seen many applicants fall into. But I noticed a new problem entirely. While you weren't tense, you were still acting with too much force. It's as if you were trying too hard. As a combat expert, I can vouch for that being a harmful tactic."

"I see…"

"It's also unfortunately not easy to fix, which is why I unfortunately cannot accept you as a guard trainee. Fighting with force wastes stamina, and I can't have a guard become tired at a critical moment. Sorry, Pugno, but you haven't made the cut."

Pugno accepted his hero's decision, although he inwardly felt disappointed.

"To be fair, though, although excessive force is a serious problem, it's the only problem you have. Fix it, and I'll reevaluate you."

"Thanks, sir. I'll use the one-month grace period to do that. See you then!" Pugno then left the castle.

"You sure he can be cut out for the job, sir?" Sugimori asked.

"Certainly," Keldeo answered. "After all, Benedict went from being that haphazard flailer from a year ago to being a top-of-the-class trainee. He could be the tenth Elite Guard, that's how good he's gotten. If there's hope for him, there's hope for anyone."

* * *

Out near the gate of the castle, a furfrou with a natural trim caught up with Pugno.

"Hey, wait!" he called.

Pugno stopped.

"That must've been rough, being turned down like that. Sorry to see you go through that."

"It's fine…"

"I didn't see anything wrong with your routine. But then again, I'm not as good as Captain Keldeo at spotting those subtle mistakes he gets on our cases about. Believe me, kiddo, he was pretty hard on me when I first failed to meet his expectations. He called me a 'haphazard flailer,' which, I was back then, but the bluntness of that remark still cut me deep. Still, he's forgiving enough to allow another chance."

"Yeah. I'm coming back in a month to try again."

"That sounds like a good plan." He extended his right paw to Pugno. "My name's Benedict. What's yours?"

"Pugno. Nice to meet you, Benedict. I heard from Hearst that you're the new trainee they got a week ago." He shook Benedict's paw.

"Yep, and it's been great so far. I hope you get to be a trainee, too. I'd love to work alongside you."

"I'll do my best."

"Before you go, take this." Benedict got out a paper and a pencil. He slid the pencil's round slot onto his right paw and wrote something down onto the paper. He then gave it to Pugno. "Go to that address and train there. He's an amazing trainer."

"Okay. Thanks, Mr. Benedict!"

"No problem. Good luck!" He saw Pugno off as he left.

* * *

"Here we are," Pinna said as he, Neve, and Pelame arrived at a small spa called Fur Cuts and Styles. "Trust me, sweetie. These Pokémon are the best. These are the stylists who work on the Elite Nine." The three entered the shop.

"Good evening," asked the delcatty working as a receptionist. "Welcome to Fur Cuts and Styles, Ville du Soleil Couchant branch, the best in trims and beauty styles for quadruped Pokémon. How may we help you?"

"My daughter needs the works," Pinna answered. "Job interview for TIGHS."

"I see. I'll have to refer you to our best stylist." She pressed an intercom button. "Belle, your services are required." She faced the family again. "She'll be right with you. When she's done with you, you're gonna ace that interview. Ah, here she is."

"All righty, then. Who am I seeing?" asked a braixen who entered the lobby.

"That would be her, Belle," said the receptionist as she pointed at Pelame.

"Ooh, what an adorable eevee!" Belle exclaimed. "This'll be fun! Come with me, please."

Pelame followed Belle to the styling area.

"Okay. Stand still for a moment," Belle requested. Pelame did so as Belle took a close look at her. She examined her client from the front, the sides, and the back. She grabbed Pelame's tail and felt it. After that, she felt her neck fur. "Well, that's quite a summer coat you're growing. Anyway, I know exactly what you need. We'll begin with a shower. Over there."

Pelame entered the shower stall, loaded liquid body soap into the nozzle intake, and switched on the water to a comfortable temperature. Even though she had somewhere to be in one hour, she took her time enjoying her shower. After the soap had done its work, she switched the shower to its rinse mode. After a three-minute rinse, she switched the shower off and left the stall. She then shook the water off of herself.

"Perfect," Belle said in her still happy tone. "Now that you're super-clean, this'll be easy. We'll begin with the two furriest parts of your body: your tail and your neck."

"Okay," Pelame responded. "Will it hurt?"

"Oh, definitely not. I never mess up. Ever. Have a seat, please, over there." Pelame followed where Belle was going. She sat on the cushioned chair. "Your tail goes in that slot. Please keep it still."

As Pelame stayed still while her tail was being trimmed, she decided to start up a conversation with the beautician. "So, how did you come to decide to pursue this line of work?"

"Oh, I'm so glad you asked. And I'm sure you'll like this if you like history, and I know you must be interested in history since you're applying to TIGHS. Anyway, at first, I wanted to be an official tailor. World Leaders and their administrators are the only Pokémon allowed to wear clothing, after all, so it's a dream job for anyone interested in fashion to be able to design clothing. I mean, don't _you_ agree that it'd be a dream come true for an important Pokémon to wear something you created?"

"Yeah, that'd be flattering."

"So, anyway, back when Magus first became the new Prime Minister of Swadfrieg, I saw his inauguration. Instant love. Seriously, that guy is so dreamy. Someday, I'd love to design an outfit for him, or even just give him a trim. And that's how I got this job."

"Wow. That's great!"

"As a matter of fact, I've worked on TIGHS members before. Ogilvie was my favorite of them. I hope they find him soon."

"Find him? Is he missing?"

"Yeah. About two months ago, he totally disappeared. No one knows where he is. It's really sad and mysterious."

"I bet."

"By the way, I'm done with your tail."

Pelame stood up out of the chair and examined her tail.

"Wow. That's great!" Pelame said, impressed with the trim. Her tail was still the same length, but its width was shortened down to a manageable measurement. "Thanks!"

"Thank me when you're done. Your neck fur is next. I'll just put this on you." Belle went to a nearby cupboard and got out a board with a hole in it. She placed it on Pelame and cinched it just enough to stay on her. Her neck fur was below the board, allowing Belle to reach it easily.

"Think you can make this quick?" Pelame asked, slightly strained but not choking. "This is really uncomfortable…"

"Sorry about that," Belle answered. "I'll move as fast as I can. So, you're into history?"

"Well, I wouldn't be applying to TIGHS if I wasn't. I graduated from Llyria Academy with a Summa Cum Laude in History."

"That's cool. You managed that despite the Team Static incident?"

"Yep. How do you know about that?"

"It made the news, of course. Did you forget?"

"To be honest, I've been trying to. That incident was not the exciting adventure the news made it out to be."

"Yeah, Wattkins has been known to give exciting vibes to anything he covers."

"Oh, totally. Plus, I don't want to be known as just 'that girl who took down Team Static.' For goodness' sake, I didn't even do it all by myself!"

"Well, they tend to give the credit to whoever delivered the finishing blow."

"Oh, don't I know…"

"You might not be able to avoid 'excitement' as a member of TIGHS, just so you know. They travel all around the world in their studies."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. It's just that since I'd be in their company, it comforts me more. You know what I mean?"

"Like being close to the family. That kind of safety, right?"

"Exactly."

"Well, I hope things go well for you, then." Belle loosened the board and removed it. "Just two more steps, and you're ready for your interview. This way." She led Pelame into a small room. "This is where we get rid of excess fur after a trim. It'll take only a minute. Oh, and you'll want to wear these. And keep your eyes on the ground." She stuck a pair of earplugs into Pelame's ears. She then left the room. Suddenly, metal clamps shut around Pelame's legs, holding her to the floor. The ceiling opened up and suddenly, a very strong wind coursed through the room.

_"__It's a vacuum,"_ Pelame thought, almost wanting to look up toward the open ceiling. After about fifteen seconds, the vacuum shut off and the ceiling closed. The metal clamps opened up, releasing her. A green light over the only door into the room cued her to leave.

"Lots of customers here cite the vacuum room to be the most fun part of this place," Belle said joyfully after removing the earplugs from Pelame's ears. "As a bonus, it lets us know who's conceited about their looks and who's not, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah," Pelame said, giggling. "I know someone who'd hate that room."

"And that's why we have just one more step, which happens to be the only part of the makeover process that's repeated: the rinse-off shower."

"Oh, that's no problem at all." Pelame went into the shower stall and took only a minute to rinse herself off. As a bonus, it put her fur back to normal after the vacuum had messed it up.

"And that's it!" Belle said. "You're ready to wow TIGHS!" She walked Pelame back out to the lobby, where her parents were waiting. "Here's your beautiful daughter!"

Pinna and Neve were astounded at Belle's marvelous work.

"Wow. You look stunning," Pinna complimented.

"In my days as an eevee, I don't think I've ever gotten close to looking as good as you," Neve added. "Thank you very much, Belle. How much will this be?"

"Oh, just 90 Pokéns will do," Belle answered.

"90?!" Pelame exclaimed in surprise. "Just for a—"

"It's okay," Pinna reassured as he paid the money. "Other salons in this city would've charged more than double that much and then skimp on parts of the job."

"Yep. We value honesty here," Belle explained. "Besides, you were a great customer. Good luck with your interview!"

"Thanks!" Pelame gratefully said. "Have a nice day!"

* * *

"All righty!" Pinna stated. "Here's TIGHS!"

"Do your best, sweetie!" Neve encouraged. "Call us when you're done, and we'll go have a celebration dinner."

"Okay," Pelame answered. "See you soon!" Her parents then drove off, leaving her to her business. She took a deep breath and then entered the building TIGHS was staying at.

The interior of the building was fairly standard in appearance. It was neither old nor new-looking. Pelame was a bit surprised, having expected it to be more rustic. Not only that, but the Pokémon inside were rather young, some of whom even were her own age. The only ones who seemed to be the age she expected them to be were the official staff members, or so she assumed. She sought out one of them to inquire about hiring.

"Excuse me, sir," she asked a blastoise. "I'm here for a job interview."

"Oh, that's right," responded the Shellfish Pokémon. "Mr. Trailblazer has been expecting you. I'll take you to him." Pelame followed him into an office room in the back of the building, where a shiny purple kecleon was. "Here she is, sir."

"Thank you, Mr. Solothurn," Trailblazer responded. "Can you let Ms. Winifred know?"

"At once, sir." Solothurn left the room.

"Thanks, Mr. Solothurn," Pelame said after him. She then focused back on the kecleon behind the desk.

"He'll only be a moment," Trailblazer assured Pelame. "Once Winifred arrives, we'll begin the interview. In the meantime, let's introduce ourselves. My name is Trailblazer. I'm the head, and partial namesake, of TIGHS. The blastoise who brought you here is Solothurn, our weapons and self-defense expert and trainer. The cinccino we're waiting for is Winifred, our substitute secretary and second-in-command, and also our therapist."

"Nice to meet you," Pelame responded. "I'm Pelame."

"Well met, Pelame." Trailblazer shook Pelame's paw. "By the way, just curious: what was it you said to Solothurn when he left just now?"

"I was just thanking him for showing me here. Didn't you hear?"

"No, I didn't. I am unable to hear anything, which is why, for the duration of the interview, I'd like you to look directly at me when you're speaking to me. That way, I can understand you through the movement of your lips."

"I understand. Sorry if I sounded insensitive."

"Oh, no problem. We only just met." At that moment, a cinccino entered the room. "Oh, welcome, Ms. Winifred."

"Hello, sir," she greeted. "Is this eevee the new applicant?"

"Yes, she is." Trailblazer focused back on Pelame. "Now then, let's begin with the reason you decided to apply here."

"And Pelame, make sure your face is perfectly visible to Mr. Trailblazer so he can understand you. He's deaf, so he can only communicate through the reading of lip movement."

"Okay," Pelame responded. "So, I applied here because I want to study Pocketurn history. I want to know why the _Anthology of Legendary Pokémon_—one of its many names, by the way— is missing its first chapter, and also why little bits of it began to appear."

"Ah, I see," Trailblazer responded. "That book inspired lots of historical minds to flourish, as a matter of fact. I'd been looking into it, too. Good to know we have that in common. And now that I know why you applied here, I'd like to know if I'd be making the right choice accepting you as one of us. What would you be able to contribute to us?"

Pelame had to stave off the urge to make the self-indulgent remark about being intuitive with history, deciding that it wouldn't be satisfactory enough of an answer. She opted instead to say, "Well, I am rather well-read. I can help decipher old writings. Also, I could be helpful in explorations. I think I could be an overall great asset to your guild."

"I see. I admit your knowledge of old languages Pocketurn once had before the language unification is promising. However, what do you mean you could be helpful in explorations? Does that mean you show intuition in certain situations, or do you mean you're skilled in combat in case we end up having to fight? Because I remember your credentials stating that you struggled with combat at Llyria Academy."

"I can learn to be a better fighter if I need to. But as for intuition, that _is_ what I meant."

"Interesting. Well, I'll just have to test you out on that. But I'll have to do it tomorrow, since we're going out on a study trip in twenty minutes."

"Can't I come along now?"

"Absolutely not. Sorry, Pelame, but I haven't yet made my mind up. Plus, while we've been here in the Twilight Kingdom Capital, the Eon Triad's been giving us trouble. You'd be a potential crossfire victim."

"I see…"

"Drop by here tomorrow morning at 10:00, and then we'll continue from there. Oh, and I'd also suggest applying for a passport if you haven't already. The countries of Pocketurn don't accept TIGHS Membership Cards as substitutes for passports."

"Okay. Thanks for your time, Mr. Trailblazer." Pelame left the building. She felt slightly disappointed. She hid her feelings on the matter as best she could when she got to a public phone to call her parents.

"Hello, mom? I'm done with the interview…"

* * *

"Sorry to hear that, sweetie…" Neve said, comforting her disappointed daughter as they waited for their food to arrive.

"Well, look on the bright side," Pinna added. "He didn't say you failed. He's even given you the time of day to see him tomorrow. You've still got a chance. Don't worry about it."

"Yeah. Thanks…" Pelame answered, still distraught. "I just really want to be part of the guild. It looks like it'll be perfect for me. If I don't get this job, then… I don't know what else there is to apply to."

"Pelame, it'd help you not to think about the worst. Just go in tomorrow with the thought that Trailblazer will say 'YES! PLEASE JOIN MY GUILD!' at the top of his lungs."

"Honey, don't get Pelame's hopes up _too_ high, now," Neve scolded.

"Don't _you_ get her hopes _down_ too _low_, now," Pinna responded.

"Dad, mom's not trying to crush my hopes," Pelame explained.

"I'm just joking around, sweetie," Pinna defended. "The point is that you still have a good chance to join TIGHS. Your mom and I think you'll do great."

"Just give it your best shot," Neve added. "Trailblazer should understand."

"All right, then," Pelame answered. "I'll do my best."

* * *

At promptly 9:00 the next morning, Pelame got herself ready to meet up with Trailblazer for her evaluation. She ate her breakfast, showered, and brought along some needed supplies. With her preparations complete by 9:30, she went to the TIGHS building, taking only fifteen minutes to get there. She arrived just as Trailblazer was finishing his morning address to the members and staff.

"…business today. Now then, let's research!" Trailblazer declared, getting the day's activities started. Everyone dispersed to their work, leaving Trailblazer free to meet with Pelame. "Very prompt, Pelame. Just for being early, I'm giving you some extra credit. Now then, shall we?"

"Uh, sure, I guess," Pelame answered. "So, what exactly did you have in mind for me to do?"

"First off, a general knowledge test." He gave Pelame a paper and a pencil. "Should be easy for you."

"Preemptively, I'd say you're right about that." Pelame sat herself down and got to work on the test. In only five minutes, she was finished.

"Ah, I see," Trailblazer said as he examined the test. "Oh _boy_, did I have you pegged right with this. Perfect score."

"Thanks. Professor Bibli's tests weren't that challenging, either."

Trailblazer looked up from the paper just when Pelame finished her statement. "Pardon me? Were you saying something?"

"Oh, sorry. I just said that I'd had similarly easy times with Professor Bibli's tests."

"I bet. I keep telling Bibli that he ought to challenge his students more. 'Course, not that it would've worked on you. But this is just in regards to general history knowledge. Let's see what else you've got. Why not show me some of that intuition you toted yesterday?" He beckoned Pelame into the building's second floor. "By the way, little pop quiz for you." He turned around to face Pelame. "What floor are we on?"

"The second floor?" Pelame answered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Good answer, but only because of our currently geographical location. Only in the Twilight Kingdom and Pumbloomberg would you be correct. Everywhere else, you'd be wrong."

"Yep. Shizazoto, Tradja, Ordoxivia, and Swadfrieg would call this the first floor."

"Exactly. Very intuitive of you. But now, why don't we see how you'd apply that during exploration. Examine this room and tell me everything you find wrong with it."

"All right." Pelame set forth to her task. At first, the only problems she could find were glaringly obvious. After all, a crack in the floor would be hard to miss. But she knew Trailblazer wouldn't make it too easy for her, so she took a closer look at everything, even moving some objects to check if they were blocking anything. Soon, she was sure she'd found everything. "Okay, so: the floor has a crack in it, the ceiling is very slightly slanted, that area on the center of the wall has a triple-stripe which breaks the double-striping pattern of the rest of the room, you spelled your own name wrong in that graffiti behind where the shelf was before I moved it—and also there's the fact you wrote on the wall at all, and that painting of Mega-Latios and Mega-Latias has their eye colors mixed up."

"Well, that all checks out. I'll give you credit for that noting about the painting, since I don't think anyone's sure which Eon is which in that painting."

"Yeah, Bentisse was known for abstract pranks like that."

"Indeed, he was. But anyway, you've passed this round with flying colors. Pass one more of the three, and you're in for certain. Let's go up to the next floor for the second test."

* * *

"Now, you might be thinking: 'isn't this just like a level from a video game?' Well, I did get the idea from one. And no, it's not _Dodrio Talon Trot_ I got it from. I got it from _Playful Pokémon's Quest_, which, by the way, is the best action-adventure game ever. Play it."

"I have played it, but I didn't really like it too much."

"That's a shame. Then you might find this a bit difficult. Then again, maybe you can surprise me. This area tests physical fitness and strength. Bring me back the three double-sided 50 Part coins I've hidden in here."

"Will do."

Pelame decided to start with the one that seemed like it would be the hardest to get to. Taking a deep breath, she dove into the swimming pool. She used Iron Tail to sink herself to the bottom of the pool and then turned it back to normal once she reached it. She then pried the coin out of the small patch of seaweed growing on the floor of it, coming up for air once that was done. She climbed out of the pool and found the next coin wedged under a heavy big-screen television set. Try as she might, she couldn't move it. She noticed that her efforts left small grooves in the ground, which she noticed was slightly soft in just that one area. She decided to try digging slightly, which turned out to work. The coin got dislodged, falling into the small divot she dug. Finally, she focused on the coin stuck inside the TV tube. She shrugged, deciding it was part of the test, and shot a Shadow Ball at it. She obtained the coin from the broken glass of the screen and brought the three of them to Trailblazer.

"Well done," he congratulated. "Very intuitive move use. Have you been training for those moves?"

"Yeah," Pelame answered. "When I first got the idea to apply here, I rented training videos for each of those moves I just used."

"Good forethought. At this point, I'd say you're in."

"I am?!" Pelame was stricken with glee to hear that.

"Yep. Two out of three tests passed. But just because I like being thorough, we'll do the third test anyway. This is one I saved for last because it has to do with something you don't like."

Pelame cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Have at you!" Suddenly, Trailblazer fired a Charge Beam from the blue stripe on his stomach. Pelame dodged it in the nick of time. She noticed Trailblazer's skin had changed to yellow when he fired his attack, and he changed to silver when he lashed out at her with an Iron Tail attack, scoring a direct hit. He turned light blue when he followed up with Icy Wind. "You gonna fight me back or what?" he taunted. He got his answer when Pelame hit him with her Iron Tail attack. "Ah, great intuition once again! I mean, I love my Protean ability and all, but it sure does have that gaping flaw to it. Oh well." He turned red-orange with a use of Power-Up Punch, and that move won the fight for him as Pelame couldn't recover from it. He gave her a Sitrus Berry. "Yep, your combat skill needs lots of work. Work on it in your free time."

"I'll try to."

"You're still in, by the way. You'll be starting tomorrow."

"I'll see you then. Thank you so much!"

Pelame left the building in the greatest of moods. She felt as though the best part of her life was about to begin.


	13. Life Ambition's Beginnings

Chapter 13 – Life Ambition's Beginnings

* * *

"The Twilight Kingdom, and this capital city in particular, has had a reputation of peace within its borders," Keldeo said in a livid tone to the rogue skuntank. "In the twenty-five years I've served the King as his Royal Guard Captain, I've done my best to make certain that peace is not disturbed. So, needless to say, I really don't tolerate scum like you going around making attempts to assassinate public officials. And it's really not helping your case that you're being so obstinate as to keep your mouth shut about it. Well, mark my words, you _will_ talk. Mull that over until I return." Keldeo left the cell.

_"__Heh, as if I'd say anything to civilized scum like you,"_ the rogue skuntank thought to himself.

"Seriously, why don't you just crack already?!" demanded another prisoner. "He's got the heater turned up to Mount Swadfuego degrees! We're burning to death in here!"

"Oh, quit your whining," snapped another prisoner. "This is paradise to my species."

"Speak for yourself," snapped yet another prisoner. "You _lived_ in a volcano. _I_ lived on the icy peak of Mount Pagosberg!"

"Don't you idiots know a torture tactic when you see one?" said the rogue skuntank. "He's just trying to get me to talk. Too bad for him none of it's working. So what if you saps end up miserable? If you all did something to end up here, you deserve this pain. Or, at least that's how that horrid civilized thought process goes."

* * *

In a room one floor above the dungeon's holding area, Walton was fastening something to Keldeo's tail. Keldeo had been pushed to his limit by this new prisoner. He was now ready to pull out all the stops.

"Captain, anyone foolish enough to withstand your Aqua Jet deserves this," Walton reassured. "You'll get him talking somehow."

"Oh, yes I will," Keldeo responded. He wagged his tail a few times to make sure the item tied to it was secure. "No one can withstand this. He'll regret his stubbornness." Keldeo left for the basement below, determined to get some information out of the new public enemy. He was all too eager to show why his reputation as a law enforcer sent shivers down the spines of the country's criminals.

* * *

"Yeah, well _pardon the heck outta me_ for not being able to take the heat!"

"And _my greatest apologies_ for finding it to be comfortable! Remember to tell Keldeo so that he can extend my sentencing as punishment for enjoying myself! Oh wait; it's constant whiners that get on his nerves!"

"Hah. Last time I checked, it's overly optimistic prisoners and obstinate prisoners whom he goes out of his way to intimidate! I can't wait to see how you act next time he comes into _your_ cell to—"

The sound of the door opening immediately silenced everyone. Keldeo entered the cell room, glancing at each and every prisoner, causing them to back away in fear. The last thing they wanted was for him to enter their cells, especially with such a fearsome object tied to his tail.

_"__Oh, he's enraged,"_ thought one of the other prisoners. _"He only wears that whip when he's in his worst mood."_

Keldeo entered the rogue skuntank's cell and shut the door behind him.

"Well, well, look who thinks he's intimidating," taunted the criminal.

Keldeo said nothing. He turned his back to the prisoner, and then he spoke. "See this?"

"All I see is your short tail with a whip tied to it. Right below it is a nice target."

Keldeo suddenly felt a sharp bite. He stood still, not reacting at all to the assault on his rear. He turned his head back to the prisoner biting his seat. "Wow. You're more pathetic than I thought. I wouldn't have felt that even if those PP-Zero Bracelets weren't on you. On the other hand…" Keldeo stood on his front legs and kicked the skuntank off with his back legs. "_You_ would definitely feel _that_. Now then, onto business…" Keldeo kept his rear in the air so as to have a good vantage point for the whip tied to his tail. He bent his face down to the ground so as to get his head out of the way of the whip, looking up to face the criminal he was ready to attack.

*CRACK*

* * *

"Good morning, Researchers!" Trailblazer greeted. "Before we begin today's studies, allow me to introduce the newest Researcher who joined our guild yesterday. Pelame, Come on up here."

Pelame figured this was the reason she was told to stand in the front row of the assembly. She obeyed her boss's order and came to him.

"Researchers, meet Pelame."

"Nice to meet you, Pelame!" greeted the TIGHS members and staff.

"Now then how about you all introduce yourselves? As usual, in the order of name, job, and nationality."

"Winifred! Secretary and therapist! Twilit!" introduced a female cinccino.

"Solothurn! Self-defense and weapon trainer! Twilit!" introduced a male blastoise.

"Monater! Bodyguard! Blooman!" introduced a male bibarel.

"Pan! Excavator and geologist! Tradjan!" introduced a male sandslash.

"Softie! Deep-sea diving expert! Zotoan!" introduced a male quagsire.

"Rooter! Doctor and chef! Friegan!" introduced a female breloom.

"Zelda! International Law expert and Ancient Linguist! Doxivish!" introduced a female gothitelle.

"Olfac! Chemist! Twilit!" introduced a male slurpuff.

"Lily! Wildlife expert! Twilit!" introduced a male leavanny.

"And that's the staff!" Trailblazer said. "Members, you're next! Go in the order of name, graduated school, and nationality."

"Morikain! Gerennaopo University! Zotoan!" introduced a male treecko.

"Hokka! Gerennaopo University! Zotoan!" introduced a male nidoran.

"Ido! Gerennaopo University! Zotoan!" introduced a female nidoran.

"Redfoot! Llyria Academy! Twilit!" introduced a male magby.

"Seedling! Bihda College! Friegan!" introduced a male bulbasaur.

"Kasumi! Llyria Academy! Twilit!" introduced a female totodile.

"Jean! Berragow Public School! Blooman!" introduced a male rattata.

"Komed! Raqeteh University! Doxivish!" introduced a female krokorok.

"Harry! Linland Tech! Tradjan!" introduced a male bunnelby.

"Thank you, everyone! Now then, to introduce Pelame. I'll do it this time, since she's new. She is a graduate from Llyria Academy, Summa Cum Laude award in History. I am fully confident that she will be of great aid to us." He turned to Pelame. "Okay, back to your spot."

As soon as she returned to her spot, Trailblazer continued.

"Onto business now: the Ville du Soleil Couchant. Today will be our last day conducting studies here. Tomorrow, we will be leaving. To where? Well, I'll tell you at the end of the day. Don't want to take your minds off of today's work now. I know we all work better when we're focused on the here and now, despite our studies primarily focusing on the there and before."

The TIGHS members laughed at that remark. As soon as he saw them calm down, he continued.

"Anyway, as usual, you're all free to conduct studies wherever you wish, just as long as you remain within the city's borders. With that said, let's research!"

"All righty!" With that cry, everyone dispersed to their work. Trailblazer approached Pelame, as well as the treecko and the bulbasaur standing next to her.

"Pelame is new here," Trailblazer stated. "So I'll entrust you two to show her how things are done here, and to keep her safe in case you run into the Eon Duo or other criminals. Kasumi, you can go with them, too."

"Eon Duo?" Pelame asked. "Wasn't it the Eon Triad?"

"The intel miscounted. There's only two members. But they're still worth staying away from. Kasumi, Morikain, Seedling, stay with Pelame."

"Understood, sir," replied the treecko and the bulbasaur. "We won't let you down." Trailblazer nodded in acknowledgement and left.

"Nice to meet you Pelame. I'm Morikain," the treecko introduced. "For short, just call me Mori. Good to be working alongside another Summa Cum Laude graduate."

"And I'm Seedling," the bulbasaur introduced. "It's an honor being in the company of two Summa Cum Laude achievers."

* * *

In another section of the Ville du Soleil Couchant, Pugno arrived at the address Benedict had given him. He stood in front of a building resembling a dojo. He went up to the door and knocked. In a timely manner, a blaziken answered the door.

"Hello, can I help you?" he asked, looking down at his guest.

"Hello, sir," Pugno greeted. "I was referred here by one of the castle guards. I was told you could train me."

"Ah, I see. You wish to apply here for training, then?"

"Yes, sir. I want to become a Royal Guard."

"Quite an ambition you've got, but you're not the first one. Let me first see if you're worthy. Come inside."

Pugno followed the master inside the dojo. He was led into an arena.

"Here is the training room of Master Lee, which is me, by the way," said Lee. "I'll set it only to 'appeal' level, to see if you really are worthy of being my student. If you don't feel like you can pass this course, then I'll accept 200 Pokéns up front."

"Oh, I'll try the course," Pugno answered. "After all, I'd like you to see my skill. Money wouldn't say anything about it."

"Good answer." Lee pulled a lever on the wall. The arena floor opened up to reveal an obstacle course underneath it. The course raised itself upward to be level with the ground. "All right. Your show."

On Lee's cue, Pugno entered the course. He had no trouble getting past the spinning gates, as it only took a well-timed run. It took a bit more effort to get past the thin moving platforms. Although the only consequence for failing that part would've been a drop that was about his height in measurement, he still didn't want to fall. He maintained his balance enough to pass that part of the course. It was a great relief to be back on ground that was wider than just barely enough for his feet, although he could've done without the counterclockwise spinning, as that was what the next area of the course was doing. To his surprise, it slowed down a little bit when he ran clockwise on it. This gave him the idea to keep running in that direction in order to stop the spinning completely. After that, the path to the final area opened up. The last obstacle was a large wall standing about as tall as Lee. He saw no holds to use to climb it. He jumped at it in an attempt to grip it, but to no avail. He tried jumping up to the top of it, but his hands couldn't reach the top of it. Finally, he tried once more approach: using Quick Attack, he tried running up the wall. Surprisingly, it worked. He reached the top of the wall and then gently slid down the other side. With that, he had finished the obstacle course.

"Guess what, kiddo? You're in," Lee congratulated.

"Thank you, Sifu Lee," Pugno said respectfully as he bowed. "I'll give my training all I've got, too."

"Excellent. Why don't we start after our lunch break?"

"Sounds good to me, Sifu."

* * *

Pelame, Mori, Seedling, and Kasumi had decided to conduct a study at the Sunset Lake, which was where they were now headed. There was one stop they needed to make along the way. They stopped in Travelers' Stock.

"We have enough for four oral rebreathers, right?" Seedling asked.

"Make that three," Kasumi said. "I'm a water-type. I don't need a rebreather. I can stay underwater for six hours."

"I'm not good at underwater swimming," Seedling confessed, slightly embarrassed. "I'll stay on the surface."

"All right, two. That costs 190 Pokéns in total, right?"

"Yep, that's 95 Pokéns from each of us," Pelame added.

"All right, then. Let's pick them up," Mori added. The four went inside the shop to pick up their wares. "Three rebreathers, please," Mori said to the politoed clerk.

"Ugh… sorry but we're all out," said the clerk in an exasperated tone. "I hate having to keep telling customers this, but the shipment was supposed to be here today, and it didn't arrive. We don't even have any leftovers. Is there anything else you need?"

"Do you have any water pressure earplugs?"

"Yep. How many do you need?"

"Just two."

"Coming right up." The clerk went and returned with the earplugs. "These are adjustable to be able to fit many Pokémon species. 40 Pokéns." The total was paid. "Anything else?"

"No thanks," Seedling answered. "Have a nice day."

The four disappointed Researchers left the shop.

"Well, what now?" Pelame asked. "What other areas of the city haven't you guys checked yet?"

"The lake was the only one…" Mori answered. "Sorry, Pelame."

"Excuse me? You want to go to the lake?"

The four Researchers turned to the Pokémon talking to them. It was a female shiny umbreon wearing a pair of eyeglasses. Her fur coat was shaggy in certain spots, and her left ear was crooked.

"If so, then it's a good thing I ran into you four," she continued. "You see, I just got done building some homemade oral rebreathers, but I just can't get anyone to try them out. If you're going to explore the lake, they can really help you."

"Wow! Then, in that case, we'll take three!" Pelame said with excitement.

"Excellent. 1,710 Pokéns, please."

The four Researchers were taken aback by the high price.

"Is something wrong? Is that too much?"

"_Way_ too much!" Mori answered incredulously. "It's highway robbery! Travelers' Stock sells these things for _way_ cheaper!"

"That's true, but they're not that good in terms of quality."

"And what makes you think _your_ overprices ones are better?"

"Why not sample one before you buy? After all, I don't think you want to miss your chance to check out the lake." She took out a rebreather from her bag and gave it to Mori. "Oh, but there's no water nearby. Tell you what; just find me and return it if you're not satisfied with it. Of course, that one will cost 570 Pokéns."

"*sigh*… fine,…" Mori replied, giving up. The four Researchers pooled a share of their money together to make the outrageous purchase.

"Let me know how it ends up working for you. And if you like it, let them know that Neera—that's me—is the builder of it. Good luck!" With that, Neera left.

"This better have been worth it…" Pelame lamented.

The four Researchers boarded a bus heading in the direction of the lake. Meanwhile, Neera went to a back alleyway five blocks away from Travelers' Stock. On a particularly soft area of the ground, she bent down to it and spoke: "Spikes, poison, heat." As if reacting to that, the ground opened up beneath her and dropped her off into an underground tunnel before covering itself back up. At the end of the tunnel was a common room.

"You're back at HQ now, Poisonpore," said the male jolteon in the room. "You can lose the disguise."

"As you wish, Spikybutt," replied Neera.

"Oh, and you can also stop Psychic-ally making your voice higher," added the male flareon on the couch.

"Noted, Hotmouth," replied Neera, now speaking in his normal voice. With his Psychic technique, he removed the contact lenses that colored his eyes yellow, as well as the eyeglasses on his nose. He next removed the blue screens he'd placed over his glowing rings. He finished by letting his left ear stand upright. The shiny umbreon known as Neera had dropped his disguise. Standing in the room now was a normal male umbreon by the name of Poisonpore.

"You know, Poisonpore, that ridiculous disguise of yours would never work if you didn't have such a feminine figure," Hotmouth taunted. "Even now, you could pass for a girl."

"Hotmouth, that's enough," Spikybutt scolded. "Now then, Poisonpore, did you manage to sell any pilfered wares?"

"Yes I did," Poisonpore responded. "I sold one of the rebreathers we hijacked to four TIGHS members. They only had enough for one, but I got a good 570 Pokéns for it."

"Just 570?" Hotmouth asked incredulously. "I wouldn't have let one of those pieces of junk go for less than 800."

"Now, now, 570 is more than enough for one of those things," Spikybutt replied. "Good work, Poisonpore."

"Oh, but that's not the best part," Poisonpore continued. "You see, I passed it off as a homemade device. All I really did was paint it new colors with paint that won't hold in water. So, suppose they get caught with it…"

"Ah… brilliant! They'll take the blame for theft!"

"Exactly!"

"Wow, Poisonpore. That is diabolical. I love it!"

* * *

The bus dropped the four Researchers off one block away from the walkway leading to the lake. The time was now 11:00AM.

"Ever see this place at sunset?" Pelame asked.

"Of course," Mori answered. "After all, what's this lake called again? Although it looks great in the daytime, too."

"So, what are we studying here?" Kasumi asked. "I think we already know that some famous speeches were made here."

"Well, I remember that there was a report from an explorer in the old days that there's a Mystery Dungeon at the bottom of the lake."

"Oh, your class covered that, too, Mori?" Pelame asked in an intrigued tone.

"Of course. After all, historians are still trying to figure out why the Mystery Dungeons disappeared. Think we'll be the ones to solve that one?"

"That'd be cool. But there's something else to this lake, too. This is one of the six Eon Lakes."

"Eon Lakes?" Seedling asked, alarmed. "The Eon Duo is spread out worldwide?!"

"No, Seedling," Kasumi replied. "Wrong Eon Duo. Let's go to the island in the lake's center."

The four Researchers got into a nearby paddle boat and took it to the island.

"See this?" Kasumi asked, pointing at a triangular insignia. "Latios and Latias both have this insignia on their bodies."

"Oh, I see," Seedling said. "They visit here, then?"

"Every now and then. Each of the nations' capital cities have an Eon Lake in them, so named because Latios and Latias visit them."

"But of all the Eon Lakes," Pelame continued. "This was the only one to have a Mystery Dungeon. Nowadays, the cave is just a normal cave. Even so, we'll probably still find something down there."

"Well, let's get going, then," Mori said.

"I'll stay here with Seedling," Kasumi said. "Just in case the Eon Duo—as in, the criminals—shows up."

"All right. Pelame, you ready?"

"Ready," Pelame answered. She took out the rebreather from her pack. "So, who should use this first? We only have one."

"That depends on lung capacity. I can hold my breath for no longer than 105 seconds. How about you?"

"140 seconds. Plus, my dad's a vaporeon. He made for an excellent swimming coach."

"I see. Apparently you didn't genetically inherit his ability to breathe underwater."

"Nope. You take it first. We'll switch whenever we start to run low on air. Okay?"

"Yep. Now, let's research."

Mori placed the rebreather into his mouth and dove into the lake, with Pelame following closely behind him. The lake was about 120 meters in depth. Taking turns with the rebreather, they eventually reached the cave. There were no air pockets inside of it, so they had to continue talking turns with the rebreather. Within the cave, they had to switch on the rebreather's built-in light. Even though they could see clearly now, there was still nothing to find in its only chamber. They settled for taking a small stone back with them. They then headed back up to the surface.

"Ah, there you are."

To their shock, a furfrou with a natural trim had Kasumi and Seedling in cuffs. He then pulled them out of the water and slapped cuffs on them, and then he confiscated the rebreather.

"You're under arrest for stolen merchandise."

"Stolen?!" Pelame cried. "No, we didn't steal it! We bought it from a shiny umbreon."

"For an outrageous price, I might add," Mori added. "I mean, 570 Pokéns is just…" Then, something occurred to Mori. "Wait a sec…"

"Well, continue talking at the precinct," said the furfrou.

* * *

At the Ville du Soleil Couchant's police station, the furfrou took the four Researchers to a lonely room.

"Okay, first thing's first. My name is Benedict," Benedict introduced. "I'm a Royal Guard training under Captain Keldeo."

"You are?" Pelame piped up. "Do you happen to know a riolu named Pugno?"

"Don't change the subject. Now, explain to me how you came into possession of that rebreather."

"Well, you see, we went to Travelers' Stock to go buy two of them, but the clerk told us that their shipment hadn't yet arrived. On our way out, a shiny umbreon in glasses sold one to us for an unfairly inflated price."

"And you just forked the cash over?"

"We had to. We made our minds up about where we were going to conduct a historical study on the behalf of TIGHS. That umbreon claimed she made it herself. Actually, it doesn't even look like a usual rebreather. Didn't you see its color scheme?"

Benedict showed them the rebreather he confiscated. It was its normal red color.

"Wait, it was blue before!"

"Well, I must say your story doesn't really add up, but I suppose I can open up an investigation. But you four will have to remain here in holding until this case is solved."

"But we're telling the truth!"

"I'll determine—"

Before Benedict could continue, an officer poliwhirl entered the room, holding a phone.

"He asked for you," said the officer, holding the phone to Benedict's ear.

"Yes, this is Benedict. What is it?" Benedict listened to what the Pokémon on the other line had to say. "Okay. I understand. Thank you very much." The poliwhirl switched the phone off to end the call, and Benedict faced him. "I'll handle the rest." Once the poliwhirl left, Benedict again spoke to the four Researchers. "That was Winifred of TIGHS. She said another member found the driver of the Travelers' Stock delivery truck bound up and left in a trash bin, and got an explanation out of him. Apparently, a flareon and a jolteon attacked him and hijacked his shipment, and then gave a share of it to an umbreon."

"Does that mean we're free to go?" Pelame asked hopefully.

"Yes it does. Sorry for the trouble.. Let me make it up to you by reimbursing you that 570 Pokéns you paid for that stolen rebreather. Once we claim it back from those thugs, that is."

* * *

In the alley behind Travelers' Stock, the criminals had been apprehended. The police vehicle arrived to retrieve the culprits. Trailblazer, Winifred, Pinna, and Neve were there as well. The officers were currently trying to pry Pinna away from Poisonpore, whose rear end was frozen solid in a block of ice.

"Dad!" Pelame called.

That served to calm Pinna down and go to embrace his daughter.

"Oh, thank goodness you're safe!" he said, greatly relieved. "As soon as I saw the news report, I came down here as fast as I could."

"I couldn't stop him even if I wanted to," Neve said. "I told him the police already had things under control."

"It's okay, mom."

"Your money," Benedict said, giving 570 Pokéns to Pelame.

"Thanks, but this isn't all mine. My friends split the bill. By the way, I thought that umbreon was shiny and female."

"Nope. He just had on an elaborate disguise."

"I'll have you know that I dressed up as Neera," Poisonpore ranted. "If this stupid country ever finally gets off its lazy butt and localizes 'Riptide', you'll all see how great she is! You! Furfrou guy! Tell your King to get on that already! And while you're at it, tell him to alfmmmfmffmmm…" Poisonpore had been shot in the mouth with another of Pinna's Ice Beams, effectively silencing him with a giant ball of ice.

"Frozen on both ends," Pinna taunted.

"You know, I knew there were a pair of criminals who were Eeveelutions, as they say," Trailblazer said. "Until now, no one knew exactly _which_ Eeveelutions they were, let alone that they'd gained a third member. Mr. Pinna, I'm very sorry for your daughter getting caught up in all this. I promise that when we go to Swadfrieg tomorrow, I'll keep her safe for the entire time we're there and beyond."

"Wait, Swadfrieg?! You're going there?"

"Yes. Don't worry; it's calmed down in recent years."

"Well, I'm sure it has, even though I'm not really someone to be consulted for an opinion on that, being as the only part of Swadfrieg I saw were the battlefields I fought on. Still, I'm not comfortable with this. You'd better hold yourself to that promise."

"I will, sir. Believe me, I know what it's like to lose someone important. Ogilvie, my former secretary and best friend, has been missing for months now. I'd never want you to feel a pain like how I feel about that. Don't worry; your daughter will be safe with me."

"All right, then."

"All right, Researchers. Let's go back to the HQ."

Mori, Kasumi, and Seedling went with Trailblazer. Pelame stayed with Pinna.

"Pelame, aren't you coming?" Trailblazer asked.

"I'll see you tomorrow, sir," Pelame answered. "I want to spend one more night with my family before we leave tomorrow."

Trailblazer couldn't help but feel a warm and fuzzy feeling from that answer. He nodded in response and said, "See you tomorrow, then." He then continued on his way. Pelame went back with her parents to the hotel they were staying at.

* * *

Promptly at 9:00 the next morning, Pelame and her family were up and about, getting ready for the day.

"Hey, dad?" Pelame asked. "Why not come with me to Swadfrieg? You too, mom."

"Sorry, sweetie, but I can't," Pinna answered with regret. "Captain Keldeo offered me back a spot in his Guard. I should've told you before."

"And I've found a job here as well," Neve added. "Of all things, I've been hired to be a housekeeper here at this very inn. I just got it last night before we went to bed."

"That's great! Looks like we've all got jobs now!" Pelame summarized.

"Yep," Pinna said. "Of course, your job blows ours out of the water. Speaking of which, while you're out in Swadfrieg and wherever else Trailblazer decides to go to, please be careful."

"I will, dad. Don't worry."

"Well, I think it's about time for you to punch in for today. Write us whenever you can, okay?"

"I will."

"And take lots of pictures," Neve added. "I'd love to see what you find in the world."

"Certainly. I'd be happy to share that with you."

The three family members hugged for what was going to be the last time for quite a while.

"Bye, mom. Bye, dad. I love you."

"We love you, too, Pelame," Pinna and Neve said.

Pelame got her supplies packed and left for the TIGHS building.

* * *

"All right, Researchers," Trailblazer began. "Today's the day! We're going to Swadfrieg! The plane leaves at 11:00, giving us one hour and 45 minutes to get ourselves organized. So, let's not leave anything behind. First, though, a pop quiz, and a simple one at that: what is the name of Swadfrieg's Queen?"

"Queen Mkono!" Mori answered.

"Got it! All right, let's get organized so we can research!"

"Yes, sir!" Everyone dispersed to do so at that cry. Only Pelame and Mori lounged about, having shown up to the TIGHS HQ prepared. Mori then gave Pelame a rebreather.

"I bought it yesterday, as well as one for myself," Mori said.

"Thanks, Mori," Pelame said. "Hey, by the way, what was your history class like?"

"Oh, it was amazing. Easily the best educational time of my life. Gerennaopo University had Shizazoto's best history program. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious, mainly because they apparently didn't teach you how Queen Mkono's name is actually pronounced. It's 'mu-ka-na', not 'mm-koh-no'. I don't know who messed that one up."

"No one messed it up. Actually, the way you were taught to say it sounds more wrong."

"Does it now? Did they also say Kentahito's name is pronounced 'ken-ta-hit-o', then? Because I'm pretty sure it's—"

"'Ken-ta-hee-to', yes. I grew up in Shizazoto, Pelame; I know how to say my Emperor's name."

"Are you two ready?" Trailblazer asked, noticing the conversation taking place.

"Oh, yes, sir," Pelame answered. "Mori and I came here prepared."

"Ah, very good. I like forethought like that. Sure does leave you time to discuss things. Might I ask what you two were talking about?"

"Well, get this: Mori doesn't know how to say Queen Mkono's name correctly."

"No, Pelame's the one who's wrong," Mori defended. "Why don't you verify, sir?"

"Well, I don't know how to say her name, either," Trailblazer confessed, to Pelame and Mori's disappointment. "I probably would if these worked." He pointed to his ears. "But her name is one of those words no one can agree on a pronunciation for. So, I'll just say you could both be right, or you could both be wrong."

Pelame and Mori didn't know what to make of that. Just then, Trailblazer spoke to the guild, seeing that their preparations were now complete.

"Okay, everyone. Are you all ready?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Then, let's get to Swadfrieg to research!"

"Yeah!"

It was all set now. Everyone followed Trailblazer out of the building and all the way to the airport. As they boarded their plane, Pelame and Mori got seats next to each other.

"Now, one more pop quiz before we take off," Trailblazer said. "What is Swadfrieg's Wonder?"

"The Pyramid Mountain!" Pelame answered. "Within which is a wall preserving the languages the Swadfrieg populace once spoke before the decree to have one language be spoken around all of Pocketurn. In fact, two of the eleven old languages are preserved there."

"Very good! Okay, Researchers, we're off. Seatbelts on!" Trailblazer took his seat.

"Pelame, tell me again how many languages there used to be," Mori said.

"Eleven, like I just said," Pelame answered in a deadpan tone.

"Sorry, but you missed by one. There were twelve languages."

"No, there were eleven. Who told you twelve?"

"Oh, nothing…" Mori got out his history textbook and turned to the appropriate page. "Just right here." He pointed to the passage confirming him to be right, to Pelame's chagrin.

"It just slipped my mind, that's all!"

"Pelame, are you jealous?"

"Wha… never! Why would I be jealous of you?! Are you sure you graduated Summa Cum Laude in history?"

"Positive."

Pelame simply sighed in frustration and rested her head on the headrest of her seat.

* * *

The rogue skuntank lay beaten and practically unable to move. Keldeo's interrogation of him reduced him to this such pitiful state, although it still forced no information out of him.

_"__Who does that jerk think he is, enforcing a concept as ridiculous as rules?"_ he thought to himself.

**"****Easy: he ****_is_**** the rules where you are."**

The skuntank heard the words in his head, despite there being no voice that spoke them.

**"****I can tell you're one who doesn't like rules."**

_"__No, _really?_ What a shock!"_ He couldn't believe he was having an argument in his own head. _"Though I'd like to know how you knew that, and also what you are."_

**"****Simple observation told me so. And for now, just consider me assistance to whatever it is you want."**

_"__Assistance? What makes you think I need any help?"_

**"****Within these prison walls, there's not much you can do, now is there? Not to mention you haven't managed to escape as of yet. I will help you do that and more."**

_"__Well, let me sample this so-called power of yours until I escape. Then I'll let you know if I want to keep it."_

**"****Fine by me."**

The sensation he felt upon receiving his power was painful to the point where he swore he would've cracked if Keldeo did such a thing to him. He felt like his heart, mind, and soul had been simultaneously frozen solid and burned to ashes. Even though it only lasted one second, it was still an ordeal that left him momentarily dazed. He soon regained his composure and got himself ready to escape. The chance was given to him once he saw Walton arrive to give him lunch.

"Eat up, piece of junk," she commanded.

"No," the skuntank said simply yet forcefully.

"Well, if you insist on starving…" Once Walton leaned down to take back the food, he struck out with his new power. Suddenly, Walton was unable to move. It was if she was being held in place by a use of a Psychic attack. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break away. She couldn't even move her mouth to speak. She was completely stuck there. The rogue then focused his new power on the door, which was blasted off its hinges. He walked out of his cell, freed after an ordeal in his short time in the Twilight Castle dungeon. He then removed the PP-Zero bracelets from his legs. He took some time to use Flamethrower on Walton's upturned behind. The flame that came out of his mouth was much bigger than it used to be, and it completely burned away all the fur off of Walton's seating area. After that, he slapped the PP-Zero bracelets onto her in addition to two pairs of iron shoes which he chained together, tightening them to restrain her legs. He finished by placing a muzzle on her, to which he attached another iron shoe. Satisfied, the skuntank left the dungeon. Once he did, Walton was free to move again, although she barely could as a result of all the weights that had been affixed to her. Despite this, she made her best effort to hobble out of the dungeon area.

* * *

"You know, sir," Hearst said as he was treating the bite marks on Keldeo's rear end. "There's no shame in admitting that you're feeling pain. It'll help lead to a full recovery."

"I know that," Keldeo replied. "I just won't be seen that way in front of a prisoner, an enemy of the state. I'm regarded as being the law around here, so I can't falter, not even to an embarrassing injury like this. What's a bite to my butt? It didn't even hurt as much as that Brick Break Pugno administered to it last Genesis Day."

"Good point, sir. Just don't sacrifice your health—"

Suddenly, the alarm system sounded. Keldeo knew that could mean only one thing. He left the treatment area of the castle and ran as fast as he could to the castle grounds with Hearst following closely behind him. The rogue skuntank was surrounded by the other Elite Nine guards. He let loose another abnormally huge Flamethrower attack. Keldeo shot out a timely Hydro Pump to dissipate it.

"Ah, the so-called 'law' himself arrives," the skuntank taunted.

"Yep, and I hope you enjoyed these moments of freedom," Keldeo retorted. "Because they will be your last." He charged at the skuntank with intent to use Close Combat. The skuntank took this chance to let out another Flamethrower. This time, he shot out two; one from his mouth, and one from the tip of his tail. The one coming out of his tail kept the other Elites at bay while he focused on Keldeo, who powered through the flames and landed a direct hit. The skuntank used this to his advantage by wrapping his tail around Keldeo's legs and suplexing him headfirst into the ground. He then used Dig to very quickly create a hole to bury the top half of Keldeo's body into the ground. Once he placed Keldeo there, he covered it back up. Keldeo was now half-buried into the ground, his lower half struggling to get free. The skuntank put PP-Zero bracelets on Keldeo's back legs, rendering him totally helpless.

"Mister Law and Order, you're more pathetic than I thought," the skuntank said to the Captain. "I wouldn't have felt your Close Combat even if you got that entire attack finished. On the other hand…" He used Flamethrower on Keldeo's exposed and flailing rear end, completely burning away his tail. "_You_ definitely felt _that_. I'd love to kill you right now, but I can sense that your King is on his way to fight me. So, for now, I'm retreating." Using his twin Flamethrowers, he spun himself around, making an impromptu Flame Wheel attack and leaving the castle with it. The drawbridge burned down in the process. The King arrived just in time to see this escape.

_"__He's gone…"_ he thought. He then went over to the Captain, who was still struggling to free himself from the ground. He grabbed hold of his legs and pulled him out of the ground.

"Thanks, sire," Keldeo said to his King as he was set down. He glanced back at his behind, which suffered a painful burn. From his hooves, he shot out an Icy Wind at the ground to lightly freeze a part of it over. He then planted his rear onto it to cool himself down.

"I felt a dark power radiating from the grounds," King Kangaskhan II said. "What exactly happened?"

"The rogue skuntank escaped," Keldeo answered in shame. "He evidently gained a lot of power since we first arrested him."

At that moment, Walton arrived, still trussed up and weighted down. Keldeo undid the locks with his careful use of his ice needles.

"I'm sorry, sir," Walton said as soon as she was freed. "He got away."

"Yes," Keldeo seethed. "_I know._"

* * *

**A/N: I don't foresee myself making too much more of these, but this is a special occasion. That "Riptide" thing Poisonpore is a fan of is based on a PMD roleplay group on DeviantART, a group headed by Cedar-bastion, a good friend of mine on that site. Check it out if you have the time. **


	14. Rivalry of the Smartest

Chapter 14 – Rivalry of the Smartest

* * *

The plane TIGHS was on landed in Swadfrieg promptly at 4:00PM. There was no time difference where they landed. The researchers disembarked into the airport.

"Welcome, Researchers," Trailblazer announced. "This is Waili International Airport. We are in the biggest city of Swadfrieg, located on the most western side of the continent. To get to the Capital City, we'll have to go to the center of the continent. But in due time. For now, we will be settling into our local HQ. Winifred and I are going to lead you there. Follow, please."

From the airport, the TIGHS HQ in Waili was quite a distance away. No less than 90 minutes was spent getting there. Despite having an International Airport, Waili wasn't too big a city, so there wasn't much that caught anyone's attention. They all cast that thought aside, knowing that their job would lead them to find value in what they were currently overlooking. Pelame was mentally noting some areas she'd like to explore.

"Excuse me, Mr. Trailblazer," she asked, going to the front of the group so she could properly communicate with her boss. "When are we going to go out and research this place?"

"Just wait, Pelame," Trailblazer answered. "We'll disperse once we get to the…" Noticing where he was, he pointed at the building. "…HQ. And after we all get settled in." The interior of the house-like building was a simple setup: its main common room served as a rumpus room, a game room, and dining room. One door was marked "kitchen," another was marked "lavatory," and another was labeled "Trailblazer." There were other doors labeled with the names of the other superior staff members. All the other doors were unmarked. Trailblazer turned to face the group. "Okay, everyone. Now, here's how HQ quarters works. Except for staff, rooms are first come, first serve. So, everyone go beat each other up for the best spots. But don't be too violent."

Using his Secret Power, he opened all the unmarked doors. The Researchers immediately made their minds up which rooms they wanted upon catching a first glimpse of them. And so, the chase was on.

"MINE!" Pelame and Mori said in unison, catching sight of the room at the farthest center from where they were looking. They made a beeline for it. Pelame suddenly felt herself being yanked back by her tail.

"No you don't!" Mori said as he ran past her. Pelame got back up and Tackled Mori from behind, knocking him to the ground and taking the lead. Just short of the door, Mori caught back up, and the two wrestled for it, only for it to be snatched away from them by Kasumi.

"Well, too bad you two focused on being rivals," the totodile taunted, shutting the door in their faces. They could hear her laughing at them from the other side. Pelame and Mori had to try to secure another room, but because of their contesting with one another, each room kept getting swiped from right in front of them. Soon, there was only one left, and it was the smallest one.

"Hmm… Looks like you two will have to share that room," Trailblazer noted.

"WHAT?!" Pelame and Mori exclaimed in unison.

"I'm not sharing with Pelame!"  
"I'm not sharing with Mori!"

"Sorry, but you'll have to make do. I think you might like it."

Pelame and Mori's faces became flustered.

"After you've settled in, you can go out to research. Have fun, you two," Trailblazer said playfully.

Pelame and Mori were not the least bit happy with this development. Pelame went to one of the other rooms.

"Nope, no Summa Cum Laude's allowed in here," Redfoot rudely answered.

"But, Redfoot, just wait…"

"Sorry, Pelame. Maybe you should've graduated with a lower grade." Redfoot shut the door in Pelame's face. She sighed in resignation and went to the room she had to share with Mori. The two began to unpack and set their belongings down.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Pelame demanded.

"Setting my clock radio down," Mori answered as deadpan as he could. "What's it look like?"

"Yeah, but you're on _my_ side of the room. Back it up, pal."

"Why don't you make me?"

"Okay." Pelame walked into Mori, shoving him back.

"Heh, I see how it is, then." He shoved Pelame back. To that, Pelame responded with another shove.

"Oh, goodness," Trailblazer said, peeking into the room. "Is something the matter?"

"No sir," Pelame answered. "Mori's just trespassing on my side of the room."

"Side of the room? Where's the split?"

Neither Pelame nor Mori could answer that.

"Well, I don't see any need for a property war, to be honest. Besides, all the other Researchers left already on my signal."

"They WHAT?!" Instantly, Pelame and Mori started to go toward the door. Trailblazer stopped them with his tail.

"Won't you need your supplies?" he asked, giving them their backpacks. They took them and left the building, each one trying to be the first out the door.

* * *

"All right, let's get one thing straight," Pelame said to Mori. "Once we arrive at our spot, leave all the researching to me."

"Seeing as how I plan to get some results from this," Mori responded. "I'm not going to obey that order. Whether we like it or not, we're in this together."

"Even still, just leave everything to the smartest TIGHS member. That's me."

"Oh, whatever."

Mori then got out a map of the area from his backpack. "So, which way to that crater you had your eye on? According to this map, it's pretty rough getting there."

"Well, whichever route looks the least rough, we'll take it."

"All right. So, this one, then?" He pointed at the area between the city and the crater.

"Yep. Let's get going."

Reaching an agreement, the two began the long walk to the crater. In close to fifty minutes, they were there. The time was now 6:30PM.

"Okay, Miss Know-it-All," Mori said. "What's the significance of this crater?"

"Why, yes, Mori," Pelame smugly replied. "I _do_ know about this crater. They say a meteor made of many types of Evolutionary Stones landed here in ancient times. Not only that, but the cave that was destroyed by the impact used to be a Mystery Dungeon, and the land within the crater was inconsistent as a result."

"Well, it sure seems consistent now. Think we'll find Evolutionary Stones here?"

"Maybe. Not likely, though, since that meteor was harvested completely dry over a period of about 300 years. Besides, Evolutionary Stones naturally form here on Pocketurn."

"Been to geology class. Know all that."

Pelame ignored that retort and continued. "Also, I've got nothing to fear in regards to evolving against my wishes. Evolutionary Stones have to be ingested into the digestive system in order to take effect overnight."

"Been to class; know it."

"But ingesting an Everstone can nullify the effect as long as it's taken before one goes to sleep."

"Class; know."

"Well, okay then, Mister 'Class Taught Me Everything!' Mind telling which Pokémon was the first to discover evolution by stones?!"

"Easy. A pikachu named Lights. See? That took me just one sentence to say."

"Yeah, so? How about the date?"

"Firstmonth 3rd, 96."

"…well played."

Their debate settled, the two began exploring the crater more fully. As this era was a modern one long past the days of Mystery Dungeons, the crater was as average as a crater could be. The only noteworthy aspect of it was the dust of the Evolutionite remaining in it. Pelame and Mori were each collecting samples of each stone's Evolutionite and safely storing them in their backpacks. After about an hour of this, it was getting to be time to return to the HQ. Pelame and Mori decided to get going.

* * *

"..and so, that's the situation," Captain Keldeo said to all of the guards he'd gathered for an assembly on the castle grounds. "His Majesty has alerted the International Police and the other World Leaders about the escaped convict, so I have confidence that he'll be caught up to. If he ever shows up here again, we'll need to be ready for him. In the meantime, we will be strengthening our efforts to keep this city and this country safe. That way, something like this won't be happening again. To that end, I have brought back a soldier who has been of excellent service during the Swadfrieg War. Pinna, welcome back."

Pinna walked up to his Captain and stood next to him. "It's great to be back, sir," he said.

"Glad to hear it." Keldeo addressed the crowd of guards and trainees. "Pinna has come out of retirement to help with our delicate situation. Whenever I or my Elite Nine guards aren't available for training the new recruits or to put any of you through a new regimen to prepare you for the craziness we've been facing lately, Pinna will be doing so himself. He will also be assisting me and the Elite Nine on especially tough missions. In a nutshell, that's going to be our focus: crime rates are climbing as the days go by, so law enforcement will be catching up to those criminal scum. So, until a report comes in calling us to work, we will be spending the rest of tonight on training."

"Sir, yes, sir!" shouted the crowd of guards.

"All right. Let's get to it!" On Keldeo's order, the guards all dispersed to their new training.

* * *

At 7:20PM, Pelame and Mori returned to the guild. They presented their findings to Trailblazer.

"This certainly is a haul right here," he complimented. "I'm sure Pan will appreciate this. I'll give this to him for examination." He pressed a button on his desk. From Pelame and Mori's perspective, nothing happened. "He'll be along shortly. So, how did your trip go?"

"It went great," Mori answered. "It was a long walk to the crater, but it was worth it. I got most of that stuff while we were there."

"Hah, ha ha, nice try, Mori," Pelame snidely retorted. "Sir, _I_ was more perceptive than he was. _I_ collected most of that Evolutionite dust."

"What do you want for that? Applause?"

"Now, now, you two," Trailblazer said, trying to stifle the tension. "Together, you've gotten a big haul. It really doesn't matter how much you two got individually. Remember: a little competition is perfectly fine, but please don't focus too much on it. We're all Researchers, after all."

Just then, Pan entered Trailblazer's office.

"What is it, sir?" he asked.

"Pan, our two Summa Cum Laudes have brought back something for you to examine," Trailblazer answered as he gave Pan the Evolutionite dust. "This should be a great help to that project of yours."

"Yep, that it will. Evolutionite from Swadfrieg is something I've been needing for my collection. Pelame, Mori, thanks."

"My pleasure," Pelame and Mori said. The two glared at each other once they caught themselves speaking in unison. Pan then left the office.

"By the way, that was Pan, our geology expert and excavator," Trailblazer explained. "He's quite focused on the ground. Just thought I'd remind you. Now then, I believe it's time for dinner. Rooter's likely back from her delicatessen run."

* * *

At the Swadfrieg border, a herdier picked up a scent. He found it downright unpleasant.

"What's wrong?" asked the pangoro next to him.

"I smell something foul," the herdier answered. "Like a mixture between fire and a skuntank's stench."

"Is that so? It happens that I'm the one those odors belong to."

From behind them, a gigantic stream of Flamethrower came careening at the two border guards. They were too late to dodge it.

"Hmph. You two are as weak as those imbeciles guarding the dock I left my boat at," the rogue skuntank taunted. "There were slightly more trouble than you two, which is saying basically nothing at all." He made his way into the gate, where more guards attempted to stop him. None of them were a match. As soon as he curled up and launched his Flamethrower from both ends of himself, none of the guards were able to stop him once he got moving. The rogue had broken into Swadfrieg.

_"__Now then, onto business. Not sure why I'm detecting two Alphas here, but I'll see to them both."_

The rogue started on his way into the country.

* * *

At 10:00PM, Trailblazer gathered the TIGHS members and staff together for the usual nighttime assembly.

"Okay, Researchers, tomorrow is going to be a special day," he began. "As you should know, Queen Mkono had abdicated the throne when the Swadfrieg War was being fought. Reasons for that are still unknown, but that's beside the point. Tomorrow, she's returning to the throne, and it's an event that everyone in the country has been invited to witness. Better still, we've been invited too, by none other than Prime Minister Magus himself! Therefore, instead of sleeping here tonight, we will be doing something extremely unorthodox: we're camping out in front of the palace gates. If any of you were wondering why I told you to pack all your belongings up, that's why. We won't be first in line, but we'll at least beat a very big percentage of the crowd that's going to be there. So, let's all get going. The bus is waiting outside."

Trailblazer led the members outside the HQ building. As he'd said, a cross-country shuttle bus was waiting for them. Trailblazer locked the front door, having already locked up the rest of the building and then climbed into the bus, closely followed by everyone else. Pelame ran toward the back left seat, but was beaten there by Mori.

"Smartest members get first dibs, Mori," Pelame said curtly to her rival.

"No, that would be _fastest_ members," Mori responded in kind. "Should've picked up your pace."

"Move over!"

"Not a chance! There's a window seat right there; take that one!"

"I don't want that one. I want yours!"

"Well then, why don't you just try to take it from me?"

"Gladly!" Pelame bit down on Mori's tail, attempting to pull him out of the seat. Mori sat firm, refusing to budge an inch. Seeing that this wasn't working, she climbed up onto him and squeezed herself between him and the window. She placed her front feet on the window and her back feet on Mori's body and pushed. Mori placed his feet on Kasumi (who had taken the seat next to Mori) and pushed back. Kasumi stood up, sending both Mori and Pelame crashing to the ground once physics kicked in. She then snagged the window seat.

"Give that back, Kasumi!" Mori demanded. "That was my seat!"

"No, it was _my_ seat!" Pelame argued.

"It's mine now," Kasumi answered. "You two surrendered it as soon as you started fighting over it. Go find your own window seats. Like that one." She pointed at the back left window. "Oh, wait. Redfoot took it already."

Pelame and Mori resigned themselves to the middle seats, neither having the energy nor spirit to fight over it. The two sat down, glaring at one another as the bus had left Waili City's limits. The Capital City of Bihda was at least five hours away, so the guild members all decided to get some sleep. After said five hours passed and the bus arrived, they all had to wake up again to leave the bus. They took only their sleeping bags with them, needing nothing else other than the tents Trailblazer brought at the moment. The bus parked itself at the palace parking lot, in a space quite far away from the palace proper. Trailblazer set the tents up and opened them for each of the members to choose and share. Pelame and Mori got ready to contest, but then thought better of it considering the window seat incident. They settled on the green one that was only big enough for the two of them, figuring that their previous spat that everyone had witness made them unworthy candidates for roommates. They entered and got out their sleeping bags, climbing into them and going to sleep. The time was now 3:00AM.

Throughout the night, Pelame had trouble getting to sleep. A strange dream came to her. It consisted of nothing but darkness. But occasionally, she'd hear something speaking to her. Her ears were hearing no voice, but her mind was hearing what it was saying.

**"****Destiny will prevail."**


	15. Ceremony in Bihda

Chapter 15 – Ceremony in Bihda

* * *

_Dear Dad,_

_For some reason, I haven't been able to get any sleep tonight. Believe it or not, it is 4:00AM on Sixthmonth 30, 1512 as I'm writing this to you. Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know I'm okay.  
Things have been going great so far in TIGHS. We arrived in Swadfrieg as scheduled yesterday, and we are now in Bihda to see the ceremony in which Queen Mkono returns to the throne. Keep an eye out for me in case it's a televised event (which I'm sure it is), if this letter reaches you before the event is done. After the ceremony, we're going to resume our studies. I'm really looking forward to seeing this city more; it looks like it has lots of significance behind it.  
Well, that's how things are here so far. How about you and mom? How are you doing? I hope everything's going great for you as well. Keep in touch._

_Love,  
Pelame_

* * *

Back in Llyria County, in the Academy's residential neighborhood located three blocks away from the campus, Blessing had climbed into the shower of her house's bathroom. As the Twilight Kingdom had the same time zone as Swadfrieg, it was 9:30AM in both areas.

_"__Mom's gonna have to answer that,"_ she thought once she heard the house phone ringing.

In the house's family room, Adorbs picked the phone up.

"Hello?" she said.

"Professor Adorbs? Is that you?" Pelame asked on the other line.

"Hello, Pelame! Yes, it is. It's only been almost a week, but it sure feels like longer, doesn't it?"

"It sure does. Is Blessing there?"

"She just got into the shower, actually. She's getting ready for a photo shoot this afternoon."

"I see. Somehow, I'm not surprised to hear that. I always did think she'd like to be a model."

"Well, only for now until she finds a job she wants even more. She's planning a solo trip to Saint Vladenhagen to check out the architecture on the Sultan's palace."

"That's cool! But does she know that Sultan Rajukh reinstated the male escort law that forbids female Pokémon from being in public without a male Pokémon near them?"

"Yes, she's aware. She's been trying to talk Torden into coming with her, but so far, he hasn't been budging."

"Well, I hope she finds a way to get there. How much does this modeling thing pay?"

"For every shot they choose to print in Llyria Lookers, she gets a royalty of 350 Pokéns."

"Wow. That sure is something."

"Yeah. To think such a degrading job pays so much, but just as long as it makes her happy."

"Yeah… Well, I gotta get going now. Tell Blessing I said 'hello.'"

"I will. Take care, Pelame."

"You too. Bye."

"Goodbye."

* * *

Pelame hung the street side payphone up and returned to the tent in the crowd of Pokémon gathered in front of Bihda Palace. The time was now 9:45AM, meaning all the TIGHS members were already awake.

"Well, the ceremony is at 12:30PM, so we've got just less than three hours until then," Mori said to Pelame once she entered the green tent. "Got any ideas on what we can do until then?"

"Not really," Pelame answered. "If we go out into the city, we'll lose our spot in the line. We're pretty much stuck here. And I gotta admit, it's not making me happy having to be here with you."

"Sheesh, can't please you, can I? _Always_ looking for a chance to outdo me, huh?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Pelame advanced on Mori until she was rubbing noses with him. "_I'm_ the smartest member of TIGHS. Don't forget that."

"Well, once the ceremony's over, why don't we find out for certain, huh?"

"Fine by me."

"Good morning, Summa Cum Laudes," Kasumi said with lots of sarcasm. "Off to a good start this morning, huh? Nice morning argument?"

"Good morning, Kasumi," Pelame greeted.

"Yeah, good morning."

"How are you two this morning?" Trailblazer asked upon entering the tent.

"We're fine, sir," Pelame answered.

"You two seem awfully close to one another's faces."

Pelame and Mori noticed this was indeed the case, so they backed away.

"Thanks for letting me know, Kasumi."

"Wait, you told on us?!" Pelame demanded.

"What of it?" Kasumi responded.

"Now, now, let's all stay calm," Trailblazer interjected. "We don't want to get riled up on such an important day. Want Queen Mkono to see you at your best?"

"Yes, sir," Pelame and Mori answered.

"Excellent. So, please stay away from each others' throats until then. I'd suggest you three get to know each other. Who knows? You could find some way other than interest in history to relate to one another." With that, their boss left the tent. Pelame, Mori, and Kasumi awkwardly stared at one another.

"…soooo, who first?" Pelame asked.

* * *

In Llyria County's Southern District, Blessing made it to the modeling agency earlier than scheduled. To take up some time, she went into the nearby phone booth on the street side and made a call. TIGHS had a small chapter in the phonebook devoted to them. She dialed the number for Bihda, Swadfrieg.

"Hello?" Winifred answered from the other end.

"Hello, is this Trailblazer of TIGHS?" Blessing asked.

"No, this is Winifred, his secretary. May I help you?"

"I'd like to talk to Pelame, please."

"Certainly. I'll let her know. One moment, please."

* * *

"Well, I'm hoping you never showed him _this_ side of you," Mori quipped.

"He never prompted it, unlike you," Pelame retorted. "He never acted like he knew everything—"

Winifred entered the tent. "Pelame, you have a phone call. Follow me to Trailblazer's tent."

"Yes, ma'am." Pelame sneered at Mori on her way out. She followed Winifred to the tent belonging to her and Trailblazer. Inside, a bulky cellular phone was set up, and was still on the line. Winifred pressed a button labeled "speaker."

"Hello?" Pelame said into the phone.

* * *

"Hey, Pelame! It's been a while!" Blessing answered in excitement. "How's the historian doing?"

"I've been doing great," Pelame answered. "And how's the model doing?"

"In five minutes, they'll be ready for me. And I've prepared my best side for them."

"Oh, yes, because you haven't done _that_ to enough cameras."

"Heh. Well, I think you'll be happy to know that they've asked for more sides of me. Of course, I'm hoping the one they use is a picture of the best part of me."

"Yeah, I'm not hoping for that."

"Well, anyway, where are you at right now?"

"I'm in Bihda, Swadfrieg. We're attending Queen Mkono's return ceremony. She's returning to the throne this afternoon. Prime Minister Magus invited all of TIGHS to attend the ceremony."

"Cool. I'll be watching it on TV."

"TV?"

"Yeah. Wattkins is televising it."

"Urgh… that guy is everywhere."

"I'll keep an eye out for you when it's televised. So, have you made any cool discoveries?"

"Not yet. But after the ceremony, we're all going to be researching all around Bihda."

"Cool. I hope you find some cool stuff…" Blessing sniffed.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"No. I just thought I smelled smoke just now. Probably someone passing by with a cigarette. Anyway, call back soon. I gotta get my photo shoot."

"All right. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Blessing hung the phone up and left the booth.

"All righty, then," Blessing said to herself. She glanced down toward her behind. "Soon, it'll be showtime." She then entered the modeling agency building. "Hi there," she greeted the jolteon receptionist. "I'm here for the 10:15AM photo shoot."

"Right on time," the jolteon responded. "This way."

He led Blessing to the modeling room in the back. There, a flareon and an umbreon had just finished setting up some scenery and props. The scenery depicted a beach.

"It's getting to be that time of year," the umbreon said. "Let's get some pictures that'll entice some fine lookers like you to flock to the beaches. Ready?"

Blessing got down to the ground, turning her behind to the camera and striking a seductive pose. "Ready."

"Excellent." The umbreon pressed the shutter button, taking the photo. Blessing suddenly felt a sensation on her back, as if a pin had hit her. She looked back to find a small needle sticking out of her back. As she noticed this, she began to get woozy.

"What's the big ideeeaaaa…" the tranquilizer had done its work at that moment.

"Nice shot, Poisonpore!" the flareon congratulated.

"Thanks, Hotmouth," Poisonpore responded. "You know, I never removed the film from this camera."

"We're not developing that picture you took, if that's what you're getting at," Spikybutt added, entering the room with a bag the size of Blessing. "It's bad enough you fanboy over those 'Riptide' comics; you think I'm gonna let you keep a provocative picture to ogle all day?"

"I wasn't going to ogle it!" Poisonpore defended. "…at least, not all day…"

"Anyway, load her into the driver's seat," Spikybutt ordered. "She's our only chance to sneak ourselves outta this country. Don't forget that it was purely luck that that rogue skuntank happened to overturn the police carriage taking us to jail."

"Yes, sir. That won't be squandered. But what'll we do once we reach the airport?"

"I'll work on that part on the way."

* * *

At 10:45AM in the dining room of Lee's Dojo, Pugno and Master Lee were preparing tea for themselves.

"Hmm… this is interesting," Master Lee said, noticing the tea Pugno was making. "Is that your favorite flavor?"

"Yes, sir," Pugno answered. "There's no tea better than Green Tea."

"Is that so? Well, I've never known any Pokémon in all my life whose favorite tea is Green Tea. Everyone says that's the worst tea flavor."

"Yep, and they're wrong." Pugno finished making his tea just as his master did. He downed it in one gulp. "Ahhh, yes… How about you? What's your favorite tea flavor?"

"Black Tea. Another one everyone dislikes."

"Ehh… it's okay-ish."

Master Lee downed his tea. "Yeah, _that's_ the stuff! By the way, next break will be at 12:00PM. I'm planning to watch Queen Mkono's return ceremony on TV. You can join me then if you want."

"Sure. By the way, my girlfriend Pelame is in Swadfrieg right now, along with TIGHS."

"Is she now? She must be skilled in order to get into TIGHS. I imagine her dad needed lots of convincing. Lieutenant Pinna fought in the Swadfrieg War, you know."

"Yep, I know. Though how'd you know he has a daughter?"

"Trailblazer and I are old friends. He mentioned it on the phone earlier this week. Well, actually, his secretary Winifred did, seeing as it's her job to operate the phone. Phones are of no use to a deaf kecleon."

"Oh? Trailblazer's deaf?"

"Yep. Despite that, he's quite a capable Pokémon. You know, we might see him and his guild on TV. You might even see your girlfriend."

"I hope so. It hasn't been too long since we last met, but I miss her all the same. I'm sure she's having a great time discovering things over there in Swadfrieg. I'll call her after the ceremony."

* * *

At 11:30AM in Llyria County, the Eon Triad had reached the airport. Spikybutt, Hotmouth, and Poisonpore had Blessing at gunpoint while they hid from the view of passing Pokémon, making it appear that Blessing was driving voluntarily.

"Pull in here," Spikybutt ordered.

"Yes, _DAD_," Blessing responded with as much sarcasm as she could muster. She pulled into an abandoned parking structure one block away from the airport. "You know, you guys aren't gonna get away with this. Airport security will catch you and jail you."

"No. We'll jail you now."

Coin arrived with two ariados flanking him. The two ariados quickly bound the three criminal Eeveelutions with their String Shots, and then Coin hauled them into the police van waiting outside the building.

"Coin, you work with the police?" Blessing asked as she climbed out of the car the Eon Triad stole.

"Not yet," the young meowth answered. "The police department gave me a trial period to see if I'm worthy of being on the force. This is my first arrest. Be seeing you. Need a ride home?"

"Good luck, kiddo. And thanks. And I'll take a bus home."

Coin left with his fellow officers. Blessing then started on her way home.

* * *

"So, by your tail, I can tell you're Zotoan," Pelame said to Mori, referencing his abnormally long tail that was not split in the middle.

"Yep. Born and raised in Shizazoto," Mori responded. "To two Zotoan parents. And I can tell by that spot in the middle of your ears that you're half-Zotoan, half-Twilit."

"Right. My dad's Twilit and my mom's Zotoan."

"I see. You know, I've always liked the way mixed-ethnicity Pokémon look."

"Me too. By the way, what time is it?"

"It's… time for us to go outside." He and Pelame both heard the crowd outside clamoring. "The ceremony's getting ready to start."

The two Summa Cum Laudes left the tent to join the crowd. An Emolga with a news camera on a tripod was speaking into a microphone.

"Swadfrieg's time is now 12:15PM," he said. "The Queen's return ceremony is just a quarter of an hour away. And behind me is quite an impressive turnout!" He moved aside to focus the camera on the crowd. Within the gates of Bihda Palace, Pokémon crowded the place. Outside the gates were even more Pokémon hoping to catch even the smallest glimpse of the ceremony. "Now, this is an invitation-only event. Everyone you see within the gates was invited here by Prime Minister Magus, who has been the incumbent ruler of Swadfrieg while Queen Mkono was gone. Once the Queen returns, he will be resigning as the ruler and will resume his usual duties as the Prime Minister. And as for the Pokémon outside the gates, well, they weren't as lucky."

"Should've known Wattkins would be here," Trailblazer said.

Wattkins's broadcast of the event was being shown all around Pocketurn. Hardly anyone was missing it. The families of each of the TIGHS members, friends of them, important figures, general populace, etc.

"Isn't this great, Pelame?" Mori asked. "We're about to witness history!"

"We sure are!" Pelame responded. "I can't wait!"

"There's now only ten minutes left until the ceremony starts," Wattkins said. "To pass some time, why don't we get to know the attendees a bit, huh?" He flew over to the TIGHS tents and landed in front of Trailblazer, taking a remote camera with him. "I'm now here with Mr. Trailblazer, leader of the Trailblazing International Guild of Historical Studies. He and his guild members and staff were all invited here by Prime Minister Magus to witness this marvelous event. So tell me, Trailblazer, how are you feeling being here?"

"Oh, I'm exhilarated!" he answered. "As soon as I received the invite, I immediately thought, 'oh yeah, I'm definitely taking my guild to witness this.' This is history in the making, after all."

"It certainly is. And you, young lady." He turned his attention to Pelame. "Aren't you the one who stopped Team Static?"

"Yes," Pelame answered. "Though not all by myself."

"So how are you feeling about being here?"

"Well, I dreamed of witnessing a historical event, so it's like a dream come true. I can hardly contain my excitement."

"Yep, I figured. In five more minutes, your dream will—"

The crowd suddenly began cheering. Earlier than scheduled, Queen Mkono approached the Palace door where Magus was standing. Queen Mkono was a female ambipom, measuring at about 2.75 meters. She was dressed in a blue-grey dress patterned with blue flowers on the lower half and a gold pattern on the middle and upper half. She wore a gold beaded necklace and had rings around her ears. And on each of her tail hands were four fingers. Wattkins made sure to film in her general direction.

"Wow," Pelame whispered to Mori. "For an ambipom, she's gigantic."

The Queen reached the top of the stairs and turned to the crowd, ready to speak. A microphone had been prepared for her. She cleared her throat and got ready to speak to the world.

"And now, the world's about to hear her speak for the first time since the Swadfrieg War," Wattkins continued. "Let's list… wait… what's that thing?"

An oval-shaped green object landed in front of the Queen. Acting very quickly, she grabbed it with her right tail hand and tossed it into the air. She then placed a giant gold-yellow energy shield over herself, Magus, the guards, and the entire crowd. Her protective action was perfectly timed; the object exploded very loudly and dangerously. A great majority of the crowd began to panic.

"Whoa. I'm not sure where that came from, but that was definitely a grenade," Wattkins noted, sounding rattled. "We barely avoided a disaster here."

Within the crowd, Pelame began to cower. _"Not again_," she thought to herself. _"Not again…"_ She aimlessly glanced around, trying to find a safe spot. She caught sight of a purple Pokémon curling up and shooting fire from both ends of his body, and then rolling away. As soon as she saw him, she felt a very uneasy feeling, much like the one she felt in her dream the night before. _"A Dark Blessing?!"_

"Pelame, you okay?" Mori asked.

Coming to her senses, she answered. "Yeah, I'm fine. But what was that all about?"

"I think someone just tried to assassinate Queen Mkono. If she hadn't acted when she did, I think many more of these Pokémon would've also been caught in the explosion."

"What about the assassin? Are they gonna get him?"

"I hope so, Pelame."

"Well, folks, that sure was scary," Wattkins said to the camera. "It looks like no one was hurt, though. The Queen sure saved everyone here. With that interruption over, let's listen to her speech."

Queen Mkono readjusted the microphone and then cleared her throat.

"Greetings, citizens of Pocketurn," she began. "Citizens of Swadfrieg, I have let you all down. Until now, I have entrusted Magus with my job of ruling this country, as well as the knowledge of where I've been all this time. Now, I think you all deserve to know. When the Twilight Kingdom won their first battle against us during the War, I feared we had no chance against them. I acted out of fear for myself, going against the priorities a ruler should have. I abdicated the throne and left it to Magus, whom I thought was more capable than myself, and since then, I wandered the planet, living as a commoner everywhere I went. But now, those days are over. The War is done, relations with the Twilight Kingdom are amended, and now, I am ready to take responsibility for my country. The pressures of ruling a country are mine once again, as are my responsibilities to you, the citizens of Swadfrieg."

She got down on one knee as Magus placed her crown back on her head. The crown was more of a hat in shape, colored blue-grey, and with a gold jewel in the middle of it. She stood back up and resumed her speech.

"Once more, I am Mkono, Queen of Swadfrieg. And now, I will act like a Queen."

The crowd gave a big ovation in response.

* * *

After the ceremony ended, Winifred had each member call their families to let them know they were okay. Lunch soon followed, during which Trailblazer had an announcement to make.

"Researchers, I'm sorry about this, but our stay in Swadfrieg will only be for one more day after today, in light of the incident that just happened. And on top of that, all research plans for today will have to be cancelled."

Cries of "WHAT?!" and "SERIOUSLY?!" rang throughout the building TIGHS was staying in as an HQ.

"I know you're all disappointed, but I have been entrusted with the safety of all of you. And today, I came dangerously close to breaking my word. On the day after tomorrow, we will be going to Shizazoto. There will be many things to discover there. Now then, let's eat."

Everyone's focus went to their food. But out of all of them, Pelame was the only one who seemed perturbed.

"Pelame, are you all right?" Mori asked, noticing his rival's expression.

"Yeah…" Pelame answered, unconvincing in her attempt to hide her apprehension.

"No, Pelame, you are not. Is it because of the incident?"

Pelame didn't respond. She finished her lunch and went to her room to sulk. Mori decided against following her.

* * *

As the incident had inspired Trailblazer to curfew everyone immediately, they all saw fit to turn in early, despite it only being 1:15PM. Pelame couldn't even manage sleep. Her mind was on the culprit who attempted to assassinate Queen Mkono.

_"__How did he get a Dark Blessing?"_ she wondered. She snapped out of it when she heard a knock on her door. Trailblazer entered the room.

"Hey Pelame," he greeted.

"Oh. Hello, sir," Pelame greeted in return. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"Well, 1:15PM is too early for bed. But at least it'll fix any residual jet lag remaining in the Researchers from the further countries. But that's not what I'm here for."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because it doesn't really take a genius to see that something is really upsetting you. Mori told me—"

"Oh, did he now?! What else did he say?"

"Nothing else. Pelame, you two may be rivals, but he values you as a friend. He wants you to get better just as much as your parents would. And I do, too." Trailblazer took a seat on Pelame's bed. "Why don't we talk about this? I think it'll really help you."

"*sigh* all right… but don't tell Mori or any of the other Researchers anything, okay?"

"Okay."

"All right. I'm not sure if I told you already, but I don't like violence. In fact, it terrifies me out of my wits. Being as close to a grenade explosion as we were today, I just couldn't stop reliving that moment. It's like my fearful mind is trying to tease me that I'm lucky to be alive."

"I think we're all lucky to be alive. The Queen saved all of us."

"Yes, and she deserves her crown back just for that. But on top of the incident itself, I caught a glimpse of the culprit before he sped off."

"You did?!"

"Yes. He appeared to be a skuntank. In fact, he almost looked like…Mustard…" Pelame just noticed the realization she came to. But she powered through it to continue explaining. "But the strangest part was this unpleasant feeling I got when I got a look at him. It was like he had a Dark Blessing."

"I see. And do you know what a Dark Blessing is?"

"Not really, other than that it's a terrible power of Immortal origin. It made the leader of Team Static go crazy a few months ago."

"That sure sounds serious, Pelame."

"And that's why I'm feeling so on edge right now. I thought I got away from that awful thing when Team Static disbanded, but no, it returned."

"Well, Pelame, I don't know much about this Dark Blessing apart from what you told me, but please rest assured that as long as you're in TIGHS, you'll be fine. Ever since I lost my best pal, I made it a mission to see to the safety of everyone in TIGHS."

"Your friend? By that, do you mean Ogilvie?"

"Yep. He was my best friend and the former secretary. But while we were researching in Tradja, we got separated. I haven't seen him since."

"That's awful!"

"I agree. I miss him every day. But I don't have any doubt that we'll find him. We just have to keep looking."

"That's right, sir. And I promise you now, on my life, that if I ever find him, I'll make sure he returns alive and well."

"Thanks, Pelame. You see, _that's_ the dedication I like seeing from a Researcher. Let's keep that way tomorrow." Trailblazer got off the bed and left the room. Reassured, Pelame finally managed to get to sleep.


	16. The Dark Blessing's Far Reaches

Chapter 16 – The Dark Blessing's Far Reaches

* * *

At Llyria County Detention Center, the Eon Triad had been sentenced to one year imprisonment there. They were all placed in the same cell.

"Well, which one of us is to blame for this again?" Hotmouth asked. _"Poisonpore…"_ He advanced on the umbreon.

"Oh, of course," Poisonpore retorted. "Blame me as usual. Not like you guys are on my butt about _anything_ else."

"Well, whose fault was it that we even _have_ a paper trail anyway, mister 'I'll dress up as my favorite fictional character that I have an obvious crush on'?!"

"SHUT UP! You guys don't understand at all!" Poisonpore hunkered down in the order, facing away from his fellow eeveelutions.

"Too far, Hotmouth," Spikybutt chastised.

* * *

Back at Lee's Dojo, Pugno opened a letter to him from Pelame.

_Dear Pugno,_

_Yesterday was one of the most stressful days of my life. If you were watching TV yesterday afternoon, then you know what I'm talking about. To think such a thing could happen... I just hope I don't come so close to getting killed ever again.  
Other than that, my time in TIGHS has been going great so far. Although no super mind-blowing stuff has been found yet, I know we'll find it somehow. Other than the usual occupational hazards, the only downside is a coworker by the name of Morikain. He's a treecko, and he's an absolute pretentious jerk! He thinks he knows everything, but he doesn't, at all! As you can tell, he gets on my nerves.  
Well, I'll talk to you later. I've got researching to do. I'm going to Sinking Forest today. I'll take lots of pictures._

_Love,  
Pelame_

_P.S.: I'm really sorry for missing your phone calls yesterday. I'll call you again tonight. Trailblazer gave me the Dojo's number._

"Oooh… an authentic postage stamp from Swadfrieg," Lee noted. "I'd hold onto that if I were you."

"I think I will," Pugno answered. "It sure is great to hear from her."

"It must be, considering that she didn't answer your call yesterday. But at least we know the reason now."

"I suspected that, actually. Pelame has hated violence since I've known her."

"She must've been so terrified when she fought Team Static's boss."

"Oh, she was. Even though she won that fight, she—"

The phone rang at that moment.

"Pardon me, Pugno." Lee went to answer the phone. "Hello?"

Pugno excused himself from the dining room and went to the training course. He activated the rough terrain training course, causing a rocky floor to extend from the right side of the room. He then entered the room to run the course again. Just as he got the middle section, Master Lee entered the room.

"Great going, Pugno!" he complimented. "Mind taking a very brief break? I have a question for you."

Pugno approached his teacher to hear what he had to say.

"That was Captain Keldeo on the phone earlier," Lee said. "He asked for my help in riot taming, and he said it would be fine if you came along to help as well."

"Riot taming?" Pugno asked. "What's going on out there?"

"There's an angry mob heading toward the Sivik-Ripney Office Building. Keldeo, the Elite Nine, and a big portion of the Royal Guard are heading there to keep things from getting too crazy."

"Well, if he needs you to help, I'd like to come back you up. Why's a riot going on?"

"Beats me. Maybe we'll hear a member of the mob blurt it out. Anyway, let's get going. The Sivik-Ripney Office Building is in the Business District, located to the east of the castle. We'll have a lot of ground to cover to get there, so let's get going now."

"Okay!"

Pugno followed Master Lee to the parking lot of his Dojo, climbing into the passenger seat of his car.

* * *

Special plaques had come into the TIGHS HQ as Trailblazer ordered. Emblazoned on it were the top rules of the guild. It read: _"Treat all Pokémon as family. Give your all to all you do. Keep up good communication. Use privileges and resources responsibly. Look out for your fellow Researchers. Any discovery is important. And most importantly of all: never, ever, ever, EVER destroy an artifact."_

"_I think my letter reached Pugno by now_," Pelame thought as she left her crew room. _"I love the TIGHS priority mail privilege. I hope I'm not abusing it…"_

"Decided where to go, Pelame?" Kasumi asked. "It's almost noon, yet you're still here in HQ. I thought you'd jump at the chance to do research."

"Yep," Pelame answered. "I'm going to Sinking Forest. Want to come with?"

"Definitely! I'd love to see it!"

"All right. Then let's let Trailblazer know and get going."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Pugno and Master Lee reached the Sivik-Ripney Office Building at promptly 2:08PM. As was expected, the mob was already there, and so were the members of the Royal Guard that took up the job of riot taming. It was as chaotic as Pugno imagined it would be. Pokémon in the mob were tossing rocks at the building, aiming for employees beyond the glass. A few irate Pokémon were even trying to break down the barricade the Elite Nine were setting up.

"All right, here's the deal," Lee said to Pugno as he parked a few blocks away. "We're going into the mob as passerby. That way, we can find out what in the world is going on here. So follow my lead."

"Yes, sir," Pugno replied. The two got out of the car and went to the mob. Following along with Lee, he approached a mankey in the mob. "Excuse me, sir? What's happening here?"

"Those idiots at Sivik-Ripney are trying to ruin 'Riptide'!" he answered loudly.

"Come again? Ruin, how?"

"Here, just take this. When you're done reading, join us." The mankey went back to protesting.

"Good going, Pugno," Lee complimented. "Let's show this to Captain Keldeo."

"How are we going to reach him?" Pugno asked. "This mob's crowding the street!"

"Climb onto my back." Pugno did so. Lee bent down and then made a very high jump, landing on the top of one of the nearby three-story buildings. He then ran along the rooftops and then jumped down to the barricade.

"Greetings, Master Lee," Captain Keldeo greeted. "And you too, Pugno."

"Captain, I got something for you," Pugno said, giving Keldeo the pamphlet he'd been given by the mankey from earlier.

_"__Stop Sivik-Ripney's proposed desecration of 'Riptide'!_

_The Sivik-Ripney studio had opened up a branch to localize foreign programming five years ago. Since then, foreign programming has suffered as a result of what this department did to them. Their first project, the localizing of 'Denkidako City Council', set the tone for their ridiculous policies: removing all traces of foreign origin by re-spelling words how they're spelled in the Twilight Kingdom, erasing any instance of ancient Zotoan words and text, and rewriting certain dialogues to remove references to Zotoan culture. Sadly, these practices have not stopped. But I say enough is enough! Tradja's newest phenomenon, 'Riptide', is next to be localized by them, and I can only imagine how much it'll suffer. Let's not let that happen! Let Sivik-Ripney's Localization Branch know how you feel."_

"Who wrote this junk?!" Keldeo asked incredulously. "Is this _really_ what these Pokémon are so bent out of shape about?!" Keldeo quickly deflected another rock with a well-aimed Hydro Pump. "Get my megaphone." Hearst complied, pulling it out of a briefcase and giving it to his captain. He switched it on. "Calm down and cease your rock-throwing, or you'll all be placed under arrest!"

Surprisingly, the mob obeyed.

"Is it true? You're really here just to protest a future localization of a foreign program?"

"Of course we are!" shouted a darmanitan in the mob.

"Well, regardless of how you feel about this, we will not allow you to storm the building. In fact, those of you who were throwing rocks and blunt weapons at the building are hereby under arrest for attempted assault."

The Elite Nine went into the crowd to apprehend the mob members who had been throwing objects.

"Furthermore, I advise the rest of you to use the phone, mail, or email to let Sivik-Ripney know why you're so concerned. Because violent protests like this will not accomplish anything other than giving them a reason why they _shouldn't_ listen to you. Off to your homes, all of you. And those of you who have been arrested, I'll be talking to _you_ later."

Unsatisfied, the mob left. The Elite Nine brought forth the six protesters Keldeo ordered to be arrested.

"Put them in the dungeon."

"Yes, sir," Seti replied. He and the Elite Nine took the offenders to the castle dungeon. Keldeo turned his attention to Pugno and Master Lee.

"Pugno, nice to see you again," Keldeo greeted. "So, you've taken up training with Master Lee?"

"Yes, I have," Pugno answered his hero. "I'll be ready for a re-assessment by the 28th."

"I hope you will be. You've got 27 days of Seventhmonth left 'till that day, so make the most of that time."

"So, sir, how have you been lately?"

"Well, things have been getting better since that last convict escaped."

"Wait—a convict escaped?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I am eternally embarrassed that it happened."

"Sorry to hear that, sir. Out of curiosity, what happened to your tail? You… don't appear to have one anymore."

"It got burned away by the cretin who escaped, but it'll grow back. When you return for a re-assessment, you'll see a fresh new tail on me."

"I'm sure it'll look great, sir."

"Thanks. Well, I'll be seeing you, Pugno. And Master Lee, keep up your great work. This boy has lots of potential."

"I will, Cap," Lee responded as Keldeo left for the castle. "Well, Pugno, shall we?"

"Yes, we shall."

* * *

"Ah, Sinking Forest," Trailblazer replied. "Good choice. That's one of Bihda's most well-known spots. All right, you're both clear to go."

"All right!" Kasumi cried. "Let's go!"

"Go ahead, Kasumi," Pelame said. "I'll catch up."

"Okay. Don't take too long." Kasumi left Trailblazer's office.

"I presume you want to talk to me about something." Trailblazer said to Pelame. "What's on your mind?"

"Sir, how did you and Ogilvie meet?" Pelame said.

Trailblazer's face lit up. "Pelame, do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for a researcher to ask me that?!"

"You don't need to tell me if you don't want t—"

"Of course I want to! It… it'll cheer me up about him. Mostly because it's a bit of a funny story. If he were here hearing me tell it, he'd be the shade of a Tamato Berry by the time I finished."

Trailblazer cleared his throat and began.

"I met him in his native country of Ordoxivia. I was conducting research in the old Forest Castle eight years ago…"

* * *

_The old Forest Castle had lots of marvels for Trailblazer to document through writings and photos. There was hardly a corner he turned that didn't have a fascinating find. Exploring on his own, especially considering his inability to hear, was intimidating at first considering that he wouldn't be able to avoid dangers that telegraph themselves with sound. But so far, everything was fine. Any part of him that was afraid of going solo didn't stop him from conducting studies wherever he set his destination to._

_Going down another staircase made him assume he was now at four or so basements below the ground floor. Until now, the layout had been straightforward. This floor was different in that regard; it was almost like he'd just entered one of the Mystery Dungeons spoken about in legend. Thankfully, no obstacles came his way as he went further in. But down one corridor, he found an unusual sight. There was something sticking out of the wall. It was white and it had a straight dark blue-grey appendage sticking out from it. Trailblazer could swear that he just saw it struggle a little bit, like it was resuming its effort to escape its predicament._

"It must be a local explorer_," Trailblazer thought._ "From the look of it, it's an absol's rear end."

_From the way the absol's bottom moved, Trailblazer guessed that the poor fellow knew he was there._

_"__I'll get you out of there," he said to the only part of the stuck Pokémon he could see. "Let me just find the front side of you first." Trailblazer pressed onward, now looking for a way to the other side of the wall he found that absol's rear end dangling from. It took him about three minutes to locate the trapped Pokémon. "There you are." He walked up to the trapped absol._

_"__Why didn't you just push me through?!" the absol demanded. "Didn't you hear me when I suggested that?!"_

_"__If I had working ears, I would've," Trailblazer answered._

_"__What do you mean 'working ears'? Are you deaf?"_

_"__Yes, I am."_

_The absol's annoyance faded away instantly. "…oh. Sorry…"_

_"__It's okay. To be fair, I _do_ make it difficult to tell that about me in most cases."_

_"__I can imagine. In fact, I'm wondering how you're able to talk and respond to me when you can't hear what I'm saying."_

_"__Oh, that's easy. Since I can see your face, I can read the movement of your lips. Earlier, when I found your rear end, I couldn't do that. Not unless you could do Sign Language with your tail."_

_Trailblazer could tell that the absol was laughing at that remark._

_"__Anyway, no harm done and no offense taken, mister…"_

_"__Ogilvie."_

_"__Ogilvie. That's always been a favorite Doxivish name of mine. Nice to meet you. I'm Trailblazer."_

_Ogilvie's face perked up when he heard the kecleon in front of him say his name. "Wait… Trailblazer? As in, the founder of the Trailblazing International Guild of Historical Studies?! _You're_ him?!"_

_"__Yep."_

_"__Oh my goodness oh my goodness oh my goodness this is the best day of my life!"_

_"__I suppose I must be a hero to you, huh?"_

_"__Oh, indubitably! You're the reason lots of historians in this country even got interested in history at all! Ordoxivia absolutely _adores_ you! Oh, just wait until my colleagues find out that I met the guy himself! I know you can't see it, but my tail is wagging like crazy right now!"_

_"__Oh, thanks for reminding me." Trailblazer couldn't believe he forgot about the predicament he found Ogilvie in. He grabbed his front paws and pulled. Ogilvie didn't budge. "Urgh… you're stuck rather tight. How did this happen anyway?"_

_"__Well, I came here exploring. I was investigating these ruins to see if their old traps still worked. Rumor began spreading that they did, so I came here to see for myself. And, well…" Ogilvie gestured toward his behind, which was still stuck in the wall. "I walked into the path of a wind tunnel, and it blew me butt-first through this wall." He began struggling a bit more, trying to wriggle his back legs to try to jostle himself loose. "I've been here for about forty minutes now."_

_"__Sorry to hear that, Ogilvie," Trailblazer responded. He examined Ogilvie, thinking of some way to free him from the wall. "Hmm… well, the bad news is, there's no way you're getting out of there as long as I'm on this side of the wall. But if I return to the other side, I can push you through, like you suggested earlier."_

_"__Great idea. No offense, but you should've just done that in the first place."_

_"__Sorry. Although, in my defense, I didn't want to accidentally kill you. For all I know, you could've been suspended over a spike pit or a 70-meter drop."_

_Ogilvie looked a little bit frightened when he heard those hypothetical scenarios. "Actually, that's a fair point."_

_"__But now that I know you have a floor below you to land on safely, I'll take your suggestion. You don't mind that it'll require my hands to be on the part of your body you use to sit down, do you?"_

_"__Not at all. But after you free me, I'd like you to refrain from touching me there."_

_"__Goes without saying. All right, I'm heading to the other side of the wall." Trailblazer left the room._

_It didn't take too long for Trailblazer to reach the corridor where he found Ogilvie's dangling rear. The trapped body part resumed struggling to free itself, or at least loosen itself to make the job easier for Trailblazer._

_"__All right, Ogilvie, I'm here," Trailblazer called. "If you can hear me, please stop waving your butt around."_

_The absol's rear stopped moving, letting Trailblazer know that he was heard._

_"__All right. I know this sounds crazy, but I think it's the only way I can get you free. I'm going to use Focus Punch on your butt. Like I said, I know it's crazy, but I'll treat any injury I might cause. Do you understand?"_

_Ogilvie was about to answer "yes", but then he remembered that Trailblazer couldn't hear. He moved his rear in a way that resembled a nod for "yes."_

"Could've just wagged your tail,"_ Trailblazer thought. He fisted his left hand, gathering power in it. After fifteen uninterrupted seconds, he was ready to unleash his attack. He swung, connecting directly with Ogilvie's behind. Ogilvie was not freed, but he was pushed forward a significant bit. After five more seconds, Ogilvie slid out on his own. He poked his head through the hole in the wall to look at Trailblazer._

_"__Thank you so much!" he said with glee._

_"__No problem at all," Trailblazer replied. "Hey, do you want to explore this castle with me?"_

_"__I'd love to!"_

* * *

"Yep, just three years after I founded TIGHS, I met the Pokémon who would become my number one guy," Trailblazer said, concluding his story.

"I see," Pelame responded. "It must've been his dream come true. By the way, if he's found, he'll go back to being the secretary and second-in-command, right?"

"Right. Winifred knows, and has known since I put her in his place."

"Well, at any rate, I hope he's found soon."

"We all do. Now then, I think Kasumi has gotten way ahead of you."

"Oh, right!" Pelame slipped her backpack on. "See you later, sir!"

"Be careful out there!"

* * *

"All right, here's how this is going to go," Keldeo said to the mankey in the Questioning Room. "This is the Questioning Room, not to be confused with the Interrogation Room. Here' I will simply be asking you questions. Words alone are used in this room. Should you comply and answer my questions, I won't need to transfer you to the Interrogation Room, where physical force will have to be used. Understood?"

"Yes, Keldeo."

"_Captain_ Keldeo to you. So, let's get started. Why did you join the protest earlier today?"

"Why else? Sivik-Ripney was about to make a mockery of a great foreign show. I wasn't going to just let that happen."

"I see. And a foreign television show that doesn't even air in this country is all that sent you and the other apprehended ones into a riotous frenzy? Is there something I'm missing here? Because let me tell you: protests as violent as that are usually a response to a political scandal or something severe like that—"

"Well, 'Riptide' matters to me!"

"Oh, I could tell. I could tell by the way you tossed a hubcap at the third-floor window of the building. I really have to wonder _why_ a television show, _one that doesn't even air in the Twilight Kingdom_, got to be so important. In fact, I wonder if you've even _seen_ it yourself."

"…well, no, I haven't, but—"

"Ah, okay then. So what was the point of your actions today, then?"

"I hate Sivik-Ripney's localization department! They ruined 'Denkidako City Council'!"

"I gathered that from the pamphlet I received from a friend of mine who infiltrated your group. Do you have any idea who wrote this?"

"That's easy, too. It was written by Hot Air, who, if you ask me, is _the_ greatest Internet personality ever! He heard directly from Holmeister Studios execs that they were going to license the show to Sivik-Ripney for broadcasting in the Twilight Kingdom."

"Is that so? Well then, I'll just have to have a word with this Hot Air fellow." Keldeo opened the Questioning Room door to let the mankey out. "Value, place him in the dungeon along with these other belligerent fanatics."

"Yes, captain!" replied the furfrou with the Diamond Trim.

"I'll be back with His Majesty's decision on their punishment. I'm projecting you'll all get about a year for this."

All the protesters groaned loudly upon hearing that. They were then escorted to the cells as Keldeo left for the throne room.

Keldeo knocked on the throne room door.

"Come in," Twarkleton answered. "We're not busy."

Keldeo entered the throne room and bowed to his King.

"Rise, Captain," said King Kangaskhan II. "What's your business?"

"My guards and I have quelled the protest and detained the six Pokémon of the mob who violently lashed out. They were throwing blunt objects at the Sivik-Ripney office building with every intent on inflicting physical harm to the employees inside. I questioned one of them down in the dungeon and found that the protest was instigated by someone named Hot Air."

"I see. And what was the protest about?"

"They didn't want a Tradjan show called 'Riptide' to be localized and broadcast here. I have to admit, sire: in the twenty-five years I've been the captain of your Royal Guard, I haven't seen anything so hilariously pointless in my life. What would you like done with the protesters?"

"Well, the nonviolent ones can be let off with a warning; broadcast a warning over the afternoon news. As for the six you apprehended—good job on that, by the way—I think eighteen months will sort them out just fine."

"As you wish, Your Majesty." Keldeo left the throne room to let the prisoners know their sentence. The King glanced out his throne room window, looking at the Arceus Statue on the mountain.

"Almighty One," he prayed. "Please let reason remain in the world."

* * *

Sinking Forest was an hour's walk away from the TIGHS HQ Building in Bihda. Taking a bus there trimmed about 20 minutes off of that travel time, placing Pelame and Kasumi there at 3:13PM. The bus was only allowed to take them as far as the forest's entrance. They disembarked and entered the woods.

"Got your camera, Pelame?" Kasumi asked.

"Yep," Pelame answered. "I'm gonna make an album to show to my family and friends back at home. How about you?"

"Nah. My folks have been here already. So, Miss Summa Cum Laude, care to tell about this place? You may find it refreshing to be talking to someone below your class. I know I will since it means you won't get all riled up."

"What's that mean?!"

"Well, Pelame, it's no secret that you kinda have it out for Morikain."

"Well, wouldn't you? You also want to be the world's greatest historian, right?"

"Yeah, but so does everyone in TIGHS. That whole 'World's Greatest Historian' mantra is commonplace."

"Eh… Well, anyway, Sinking Forest is one of Swadfrieg's most famous landmarks. It's so named because of most of it being underwater."

"Let me guess: an earthquake sunk most of it, right?"

"Right. Sunk it right into Lake Ruvaghetti. Speaking of which, here we are." Pelame walked closer to the water.

"PELAME, STOP!" Mori cried, having caught up to Pelame and Kasumi.

"How come?" Kasumi asked.

"Some weedles and joltiks strung an Electroweb along the shore. You both could get paralyzed or worse!"

"Well, Mori," Pelame responded with as much sarcasm as she could muster. "Thanks for looking out for us."

Mori was taken aback at Pelame's reaction. He couldn't help feeling offended. "I'm not joking, Pelame. I overheard—"

"Mori, I know that much like Kasumi and myself, you want to be the world's greatest historian. But making up a desperate lie like that just to hog all the glory of making a new discovery here for yourself is absolutely pathetic. Now, if you'll excuse me, _I've_ got some research to do." Before Pelame could tread into the water, Kasumi pulled her away.

"For goodness' sake, Pelame!" she chastised. "What if Mori's right? You'd seriously risk killing yourself just to upstage Mori?!"

"Kasumi, don't you know a ruse when you hear one?! He just wants us to leave so we don't give him any competiti—"

The sound of a rolled-up food wrapper being electrocuted interrupted the argument.

"See? I _wasn't_ lying?!" Mori said, still offended by the insinuation.

"How did you just do that?" Pelame asked, still incredulous. At that, Kasumi slapped her across the face.

"HE SAVED YOUR LIFE!" she screamed.

"Not for long, though…"

A swarm of twenty weedles and twenty joltiks surrounded the three researchers. One weedle chattered something unintelligible.

"Yes, that's her. Nice to see she brought some friends."

"Huh? Who was that weedle talking to?" Kasumi asked.

"And how does whoever the listener is know the language of wild Pokémon?" Pelame asked.

"Easy. I grew up in the wild for the past thirteen years." The mysterious speaker suddenly started chattering wild language to the weedles and joltiks. As if receiving an order, a few of them backed up to form an open path. A skuntank walked down the makeshift aisle and approached the three researchers. "And I can assure you that it was a nice alternative to living among fools who either supported the Swadfrieg War or opposed it."

"Ah, I see. So after you started the Swadfrieg War, you decided to hide out among wild Pokémon, huh?" Pelame demanded. "And only recently did you decide it was okay to reappear into the world and try to take out Queen Mkono. Right, Mustard?!"

"Me? Start the Swadfrieg War? You can't really think I'm that warmonger Mustard? Because I'll have you know that he's the exact reason I fled to the wild!" The skuntank's irritated tone softened. "Now then, I've wanted to meet you for a while, Pelame. The Dark Blessing warned me about you. Now that I've met you, I will now be leaving you to these poor wild ones you disturbed on your way here."

"Not gonna take us on yourself?!" Mori challenged.

"Ah, that's an interesting idea, actually." The three researchers and the rogue skuntank got ready for a fight. The skuntank released a Flamethrower attack from his mouth, which Pelame blocked with her Alpha Power. When the dust cleared, the skuntank was gone. He could still be heard as he ran off. "I _would_ do that if there was no risk of me losing my Dark Blessing! Goodbye!"

"Coward!" Mori shouted at the escapee. Though the skuntank had run off, there were still weedles and joltiks to contend with.

"What now?!" Pelame asked, worried.

"I've got an idea. As soon as they use String Shot, we jump."

"What makes you think they're gonna do that?"

"Weedles and joltiks always go to bind their victims before attacking." The wild ones released their technique, just as Mori thought. "Jump!"

The three researchers did so, causing the forty String Shots to tangle onto one another. The three landed harmlessly on it and ran out of the forest. To their dismay, the next bus back to the city wouldn't be arriving until twenty-five minutes later, forcing them to have to keep running. Eventually, a break was necessary. They stopped on a bridge overlooking a highway to take a breather.

"Great, just great!" Pelame complained. "Not only do I have a stuck-up know-it-all rival within my workplace, but now I have a new mortal enemy! Can my life get _any_ worse?! At all?!"

"Oh, and speaking of said 'stuck-up know-it-all rival' don't you have something to say to him?" Kasumi demanded of Pelame. "On account of him saving you?!"

Pelame calmed down a bit upon hearing that. Begrudgingly, she looked at Mori and said "Thanks for saving me."

"You're welcome," Mori responded. "We should get going now, before—"

Out of nowhere, a String Shot hit Mori from behind, binding him on the spot. As soon as he fell over, another String Shot hit his face, forcing his mouth shut and blocking his nose.

"Urgh… I missed," said a spinarak who climbed over from the side of the bridge. Pelame felt a tense sensation upon looking at the spinarak.

_"__This one, too?!"_ she thought, guessing that she was dealing with another Pokémon afflicted by the Dark Blessing.

"One of you is Pelame," said the spinarak. "And I'm going to deal with you now." She shot a Pin Missile at Pelame, landing a direct hit.

"AUGH!" Pelame cried out. A barb was now stuck in her shoulder, causing her lots of pain. Angered at this, Kasumi let out a Hydro Pump, drenching the spinarak.

"Urgh… too powerful. I can dish out attacks, but I can't take them…"

With as much strength as she could muster, Pelame ran over to the defeated spinarak.

_"__It worked on Paras…"_ she thought as she gathered her power. She pressed her left paw to the face on the spinarak's abdomen. "You've been afflicted by an evil curse," she declared. "I will now rid you of it. Leave this poor Pokémon alone, evil one!" The Alpha Power coursing from Pelame purified the little spinarak. It had also disintegrated the strings binding and suffocating Mori. The spinarak lie there, unconscious.

"*hah* *hah* Thanks, Pelame…" Mori said in-between breaths. "I just about ran out of air."

"No problem, Mori," Pelame responded.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sure I can walk this off. It didn't get stuck too deep in. Anyway, we should get back to the city now."

* * *

"…well, it was _your_ stupid idea to sneak us to Tradja! Besides, what idiot leaves a gun in _plain view_?! Those officers caught us because they saw that gun on your head! YOU WERE IN THE PASSENGER'S SEAT WITH IT!"

Back at Llyria County Detention Center, Hotmouth and Poisonpore were at each others' throats once more.

"And who _gave_ me that gun?!" Poisonpore snapped back.

"I _told you_ to strap it to your left foot!"

"Did not! In fact, you didn't tell me to strap it anywhere! Ergo, I strapped it to a part of my body that would ensure an accurate shot!"

"What, you can't aim with your feet?! Did reading all those 'Riptide' comics and watching those imported videos damage your eyesight or something?! Oh, wait, of _course_ they did, considering how many hours a day you'd spent on all that stuff!"

"Take that back!"

"Make me. Good luck with that with those PP-Zero Bracelets on."

"Watch me!" Poisonpore lunged at Hotmouth, but missed and crashed into the wall. "Ooogh… my head…"

"Yep, just as I thought."

"You're lucky Spikybutt's out with the chain gang right now…"

"I agree. Spares me the sight of seeing you cower behind him."

"I hate you." Poisonpore went to his bed and lie down on it. Just then, a guard approached the cell door.

"Bathroom call," said the vigoroth guard. "Last chance until tonight to relieve yourself."

Hotmouth went with the guard to use the bathroom. Poisonpore was left alone in the cell.

**"****Some syndicate, huh?"**

Poisonpore stood up straight, startled by the words speaking to his mind.

**"****The Eon Triad has been quite a bit of trouble for you, hasn't it? Hotmouth antagonizing you and Spikybutt not taking your side…"**

"Who are you?" Poisonpore asked out loud.

**"****I'll let you know soon. For now, let's not stray from the discussion topic at hand. So, why are you and Hotmouth always at odds? Do you take offense to his thoughts on your affinity for 'Riptide'?"**

_"__Of course I do,_" Poisonpore responded within his mind, figuring that he'd be heard by what was speaking to him. _"He won't stop teasing me about it."_

**"****Well, that's a shame. In fact, he's not your only enemy to such thoughts. Another fellow fanatic is as well. Did you want to see the show and books brought to your home country?"**

_"__Yeah. Why?"_

**"****Allow me to show you something…"**

Poisonpore scrunched his eyes shut in pain as a vision came to him.

* * *

In a small apartment complex, a koffing just finished seeing a warning from Captain Keldeo broadcast over the afternoon news. Eager to report this, he went to his customized computer to let his thoughts be known to Pocketurn.

"To my fellow Riptide fans,  
It seems we've gotten the attention of the Twilight Kingdom's law enforcement. Today's protest at the Sivik-Ripney Office Building was covered in the Twilight Kingdom news a few minutes ago as of this post. Along with the general report of the events of the protest, Captain Keldeo of the Royal Guard went on the news to try to warn us fans of 'Riptide' not to ever do something like this again unless we want to be jailed for two years. Apparently, he doesn't understand what we've set out to accomplish. He seems to want great shows like 'Riptide' to be ruined by Sivik-Ripney, and he's threatening us with jail time just for gently urging Sivik-Ripney to keep their filthy hands off of 'Riptide'. Er hat nur luft im sack.  
Well, only time will tell if the protest worked. If not, then we'll simply try again.

-Posted by Hot Air.**  
**Seventhmonth 1st, 1512"

"You don't scare me, Keldeo," Hot Air seethed as he posted his message to his website. He was unaware that a dark power was observing him as he did this.

* * *

**"****Unless something is done about him, your nightmare will come true."**

_"__Well, he's got another thing coming if he thinks he can keep 'Riptide' away from the Twilight Kingdom. But how can I stop him if I'm in jail."_

**"****With my help, you can handle that, and your nemesis as well."**

_"__As you wish. Lend me your assistance, please."_

**"****Gladly."**

* * *

"Temple doors open at 4:30PM." So read a sign hanging from the doors of the Basílica de Swadfuego, a church located in the northern district of Swadfrieg's capital. As the time was currently 4:20PM, there was time for Pelame to make a phone call.

"Hello?" the warden answered on the other end of the line.

"Hello," Pelame answered. "When are visiting hours?"

"Visiting hours are right now until 5:00PM."

"May I please speak to Paras? This is important."

"Certainly. I'll put him on now. Please hold."

"Thanks."

"Why are you calling a jail?" Kasumi asked.

"One of the inmates there is Paras," Pelame answered.

"Well, why are you calling Team Static's boss?"

"He had a Dark Blessing. I want to hear from him how it operates. He could give me some insight about it. He should be on now." Pelame turned back to the phone. "Hello?"

"Pelame? Is that you?" Paras asked, uplifted.

"Yes. How have you been?"

"Fantastic. Jail is no fun, but it's at least bearable with my friends. Speaking of whom, Snivy's been told they were letting her out in one month. And it certainly helps that I no longer have that awful Dark Blessing tempting my every move."

"Actually, that's what I called to ask about. I need you to tell me everything you know about the Dark Blessing."

"What? Why would you want to know? Has it been trying to reach out to you?! If it has, resist it at _ALL_ costs!"

"No, it hasn't been trying to reach me. But… you see… I've run into two Pokémon who have given into it, and both of them expressed a desire to kill me. I think it knows I have the ability to remove a Dark Blessing. In fact, I managed to purify the second of the two I met today."

"That's good. I don't know if this is true of every purified Pokémon, but the Dark Blessing hasn't tried to return to me since you purified me. Keep doing that, Pelame. Save _everyone_ from that evil curse."

"I will, Paras. But first, I need to know how it operates on those who already _have_ fallen victim to it."

"Okay. I'll tell you. Now, as you know, it gives a big power boost, as well as a new type that trumps all others, including Alpha type, which it itself is weak against. But the power isn't what controlled me. The Dark Blessing can speak—well, actually, I wouldn't really say it _speaks_ since I never heard a voice come from it. It was more like my mind and soul were hearing it instead of my ears."

"I felt that, too, whenever it threatened me. The Dark Blessing hasn't tried to convince me to its side, but it has visited me in my sleep to threaten me."

"I do remember that it kept urging me to be wary of you as soon as your Alpha Power was revealed. Not only that, but any time I ever even had anything resembling second thoughts about Operation Everstone, it would convince me to keep going with it. The worst part was that I listened and caved in each time. It kept making it too hard for me to refuse."

"Then, it controlled you not with force, but with charisma."

"Exactly. I couldn't have put it better myself. But remember, Pelame: no matter what it tries, no matter what it says, never _EVER_ say 'yes' to it. Please let your friends know."

"I will. Thanks, Paras."

"You're welcome, Pelame. I hope what little information I had will help."

"Oh, it will. Thanks again and goodbye."

"Goodbye, Pelame."

Both Pokémon hung up. And at that moment, the church's doors opened for visitors. But before going in, Pelame decided to make one more phone call.

"Miss Winifred?" Pelame said when the other line was picked up.

"Hello, Pelame," Winifred answered. "Still researching?"

"Yes. Mori, Kasumi, and I are making a stop at the Basílica de Swadfuego."

"Ooh, that should be interesting! Well, I hope you have a good time there!"

"We will. I just wanted to let you know where we are. Could you tell Trailblazer for us?"

"Certainly. See you when you get back."

"Okay. Bye."

All phone errands Pelame needed to run (save for one she swore to do at the end of the day) were now complete, leaving the three researchers free to enter the church. The church's outer architecture was a sight to behold. Each of the building's four corners had spires topped with round domes. The main central building was also topped with a round dome. Though the windows were regular glass, their rounded rectangular shapes allowed for a pattern of sunlight that was pleasing to the eyes of those inside the building. The interior was only one room, but what a room it was. The seats were all neatly aligned in two rows of fifty seats, split into twenty-five on either side of the center aisle. This arrangements went on for ten rows, totaling at five hundred seats. The floor's checkered black and white pattern complimented the silver seats. The ceiling was decorated with a mosaic of a fiery bird Pokémon Pelame instantly recognized as Swadfuego, the moltres who served as the appointed guardian of Swadfrieg. A bust of the building's namesake rested on the front of the altar.

"Good afternoon," greeted a quilava. "Welcome to the Basílica de Swadfuego."

"Good afternoon," Pelame greeted in return. "We're with the Trailblazing International Guild of Historical Studies. Is it okay if we conduct some research here?"

"Absolutely. In fact, how about if I give you three a guided tour?"

"I think that'd be perfect. Mori, Kasumi, how about you?"

"Sure," they both answered.

"Excellent. First off, I'll begin with an introduction. My name is Calores, and I'm a volunteer aide to this establishment's Sunday School teacher."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Calores. I'm Pelame. This is my friend Kasumi…" Pelame gestured to her totodile friend. "…and this is my… _coworker_, Morikain." Pelame gestured to her treecko rival, noticeably speaking with disdain when she introduced him.

"Very nice to meet all of you. I'm sure you'll all enjoy your visit here. Now, let's begin. We'll start over here." On the back wall was a shape like a doorway. It was emblazoned with a familiar sigil. "Let's start with the biggest mystery of this church," Calores began. "This section of the wall appears to be a doorway, doesn't it? Well, that's entirely what the mystery is. In historical texts about this church, it's stated that when construction finished, this suddenly appeared. Both the 'doorway' and the sigil on it. Note that the sigil bears resemblance to the gold wheel on the body of Arceus, the original being. As a matter of fact, this church was built simultaneously as a place of reverence to Arceus and also as a gift to Swadfuego for his work in guarding this country. That is why both of them are immortalized in the church's decorations. But although that could explain _why_ this sigil is here, it still explains nothing about _how_ it ended up here… pardon me, but is your friend Pelame feeling okay?"

Taking a look at the sigil gave Pelame a strange feeling. From the perspectives of Mori, Kasumi, and Calores, she appeared to be in a trance. She focused on the sigil on the wall. Suddenly, the sigil glowed. The same went for the identical sigil on Pelame's chest. In a brilliant flash of light, the wall within the arch disappeared to become an actual door. She then entered, not noticing that the three Pokémon behind her were unable to enter, as if being repelled by a force field. She went down the stairs to a secret shrine decorated with three statues: one of Arceus, one of an eevee who bore an uncanny resemblance to herself, and one of a creature she'd never seen before. It stood on two legs, had two arms, both pairs of which attached to a central body. On top of that was a head. On top of the head was what Pelame guessed was hair, and on the face was unmistakably eyes and a mouth. Pelame had a bit of trouble recognizing the object in the middle of the statue's face as a nose. The figure had on a robe, and out of its back were eight wings. Each of these three statues were arranged in a triangular fashion, standing on the corners of the imaginary shape with the eevee on the left, the mysterious figure on the right, and Arceus on the top. In the center of their arrangement was a large Alpha Sigil on the floor. Pelame stood in the center of it. Upon doing so, it glowed gold and lit the room up.

"Welcome, Pelame."

"Who are you?" Pelame asked the voice speaking to her in the secret shrine.

"I am Arceus," answered a voice coming from the statue of Arceus. "I am the original being. I am the creator of the world, and of Alpha Power."

"I am Votum, the Immortal who helped create the Alpha Power," answered a voice coming from the mysterious figure. "I distributed it to many other beings, Immortal and Mortal alike."

"I am Grani," a voice coming from the eevee statue answered. "I was the first Mortal being to receive Alpha Power."

"So, where did I get it from?" Pelame asked.

"From me," Grani answered. "I'm your ancestor, Pelame."

"Alpha Power is hereditary," Votum added. "Every member directly related to Grani had Alpha Power dormant in them. But Grani is not the only one I gave Alpha Power to."

"Wait, there are _more_ Alphas?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, I don't remember who else I gave Alpha Power to. But if the Dark Blessing continues to spread like it has lately, there's a strong likelihood that many more Alphas will awaken in response."

"'_Alpha power lies dormant in the bloodline of the Pokémon who was first blessed with a share of this noble power. It awakens in response to a threat from its opposite number, the Dark Blessing._' I read an old text saying that. I just hope whoever these other Alphas are, they'll be okay when they awaken. Will they be getting the ability to Purify Demons, too?"

"No, they will not," Grani answered. "That ability resides only in my specific share of the Alpha Power. As I was the original recipient, I received every ability Votum and Arceus put into the Alpha Power. And in turn, so did all of my descendants related to me by blood. And that includes you, Pelame."

"But for the other Alphas, they received a lesser share of the power," Votum continued. "I was unable to impart the complete power to everyone, as doing so would've drained all my power and all of Arceus's power. Try as we might, we couldn't find a way to avoid that issue."

"That's too bad," Pelame responded. "But why was Alpha Power made? Was it only to combat the Dark Blessing?"

"Yes," Arceus answered. "Alpha Power was created because… it was created because… I'm sorry, but I am unable to remember."

"How come?" Pelame asked.

"I don't know. I'm trying to remember, but I cannot."

"Me neither," Grani added.

"Same for me," Votum added. "It's as if the answer disappeared completely."

"But then how did it disappear?" Pelame asked, getting frantic.

"None of us know that, either," Arceus answered. "There is only one memory of the Dark Blessing remaining in my mind. Its function is known, but now, so is the identity of its creator."

"Who was it? Who created the Dark Blessing?"

"The Dark Blessing was created by a malevolent Immortal, the Immortal of despair and sorrow. It was created by Unod."


	17. Alpha Awakening

Chapter 17 – Alpha Awakening

* * *

_"__Dear Torden,  
How have you been? I heard from Blessing that she was trying to get you to accompany her to Ordoxivia once she got the funds to go there. How do you respond to her request?  
Anyway, I wish I could tell you that things have been going well for me, but they have not. Well, not entirely, anyway. Except for a pretentious coworker and some run-ins with more Demon Type Pokémon, things have been going well. Still, I can't help but feel scared. I just hope the Dark Blessing hasn't reached Shizazoto yet, considering that I'm there right now. Trailblazer (my boss) is hoping to be able to have us a TIGHS stay here from today (it's Seventhmonth 1__st__ over here; it's probably still Sixthmonth 30__th__ over there in the Twilight Kingdom) until Eighthmonth 14__th__. I just hope it'll be a smooth month-and-a-half. I've had enough trouble already.  
Anyway, keep in touch._

_Sincerely,  
Pelame"_

"Oooh, Shizazoto," Torden mused after he had finished reading Pelame's email. He got to work composing a response letter.

* * *

Over in the western side of Shizazoto, everyone had gotten settled in the TIGHS HQ building in Yuxiujing. There was time left before Trailblazer would make his assembly, so the members all had a look around. Pelame's attention went to a portrait of a mienshao dressed in a green and gold robe and wearing a black and red hat. The frame had a small plaque on the bottom reading "賢太仁皇帝萬歲". Pelame respectfully bowed to the portrait. To her surprise, so was Morikain.

"Wansui," he said.

"Oh, you know that expression, too?" Pelame asked.

"Of course I do," he answered. "I grew up here, after all. Everyone growing up here was taught this saying. It says 'Xiántài rén huángdì wànsuì', which means 'May Emperor Xiántàirén live ten thousand years'."

"Uh, the Emperor's name is Kentahito, Mr. I-Grew-Up-In-Shizazoto."

"I know that! It's just that the writing system of the western dialect of Old Zotoan had no way to accurately write his name. On the other hand, the eastern Old Zotoan dialect did. Or actually, they read it differently. To the eastern side, it says—"

"'Kentahito-Koutei banzai'," Pelame finished for Mori. "And in the east, it's written like this." She quickly scribbled down the version she was familiar with, which read "贤太仁皇帝万岁". She also scribbled down text reading "ケンタヒト" and "けんたひと".

"Wow, you sure are versed in Old Zotoan, Pelame," Zelda complimented as she walked by. "I see on that paper all three ways Eastern Shizazoto used to spell Emperor Kentahito's name."

"Thanks, Miss Zelda," Pelame responded, very quickly sneering at Mori.

"You're welcome. And Mori, nice display on your part in your accurate reading of western Old Zotoan. In the old days, that was considered the hardest of Pocketurn's languages to learn."

"Heh, I believe that," Mori responded. "Even to a native Western Zotoan like me, it's tough. But I think it's because I was born to a world that speaks one language."

"Yep, that's definitely a factor. Now I believe Trailblazer is getting ready to make his assembly. We should gather together."

The members and staff of TIGHS got to order once Trailblazer took his speaking spot.

"Well, that unexpected attack on Queen Mkono ruined everything I had planned for our visit to Swadfrieg," Trailblazer said to his guild. "Hopefully Mustard is caught soon. I'll be damned if he ruins anything else. But Shizazoto is a vigilant country. Emperor Kentahito is very intolerant of violence, especially considering his family's history of it that he's trying to distance himself from. We don't have much to worry about. Hopefully…"

The TIGHS members exchanged a few uneasy looks upon this announcement.

"Anyway, as we are spending forty-five days here, we have a good chance at scouring basically the whole country. Well, accounting for everyone's combined efforts upon spreading out. But also, I have a special treat for you all. On Eighthmonth 4th, I got us permission to do research in Mujizoto Tower."

Everyone clamored in joy at that.

"Yep, I'm excited, too. A Pocketurn Wonder…" Trailblazer sighed wistfully. He resumed his usual demeanor and continued. "Anyway, until then, TIGHS life goes on as usual. We get up in the morning, eat breakfast, go out and research, have lunch, continue research if applicable, eat dinner, review findings, and go to bed. Of course, there's room for exceptions. After all, Shizazoto is a country with a rich culture, if one looks past the ugliest parts of it. But every civilization has shames to them. The point being that this country has lots and lots and _lots_ to see. In fact, despite the long time we'll be spending here, we might not find _everything_. But hey, we'll be back next year.

"Also, you likely noticed that each of your rooms has a computer. Those are a brand new addition to many of the TIGHS HQ buildings around the world. Not all of them have had computers installed yet, though, so enjoy them while you can. And please don't log onto dirty sites. I'll know if you do, by the way. I don't like to monitor your activity, but TIGHS servers do have a filter alerting the staff of any lewd or illegal activity. That's how I'll know. So don't even think about it. It's punishable by probation, just so you know. But for anything else like shopping, email, IRC chat, forums, watching videos on Videot, any of that fun stuff is allowed. All right, let's all get a good night's sleep. Hopefully our rest will get rid of the jet lag. Good night, everybody!"

* * *

It had made Pelame very happy to be sharing a room with someone other than Morikain. This time, she got to be roommates with Harry. They got the room closest to the building's front door. Pelame logged onto the TIGHS website to check if she got a response from Torden. As she hoped, she did.

_"__Dear Pelame,  
It's great to hear from you again. Yeah, things have been going great for me. Videot is now a multi-million Pokéns company thanks to a partnership Grommet and I formed with Twang Ltd. We are both CEOs now! Though despite that, we're still living like young adults, which is what we are. But we're rich adults! Twang handles the business stuff, while we just screen videos and moderate forums (yes, there are forums).  
But enough about that business junk. I discovered an awesome TV show from Tradja called 'Riptide'. If you're ever in Tradja, check it out. But please look out for a blowhard by the name of Hot Air. I'm currently in an online argument with him over whether or not it should come to the Twilight Kingdom. A bit of advice, Pelame: be careful within Internet fandoms.  
Fortunately, the Dark Blessing hasn't reared its ugly head here since you defeated Paras. Some local criminals tried to abduct Blessing, but they didn't think their plan all the way through, so they got caught. Other than that, no trouble's been happening.  
Anyway, such is life. Write back soon!_

_Sincerely,  
Torden"_

"Paras?" Harry asked. "As in, the boss of Team Static?"

"Yep, that's him—wait, were you reading this over my shoulder?!" Pelame demanded.

"Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"Oh, it's okay, Harry."

"What's the Dark Blessing?"

"*sigh* I was afraid you'd ask that. To be honest, I don't know much about it. The only things I know about it are that it's an evil power created by an evil Immortal long ago. Well, I assume it was long ago, because that Immortal hasn't been heard from in a while. And when a Pokémon gains a Dark Blessing…"

* * *

"…they gain a new type that trumps all others," Pelame continued explaining, having decided to tell all she knows to all of TIGHS. "I actually spoke to Paras over the phone yesterday before we left Swadfrieg. He told me what it was like to have a Dark Blessing. He said it controlled him by talking him back into his crazy scheme every time he felt like reconsidering it. It kept egging him on."

"Subterfuge, huh?" Seedling guessed.

"No, Seedling," Jean corrected. "The word you're thinking of is 'choreography.'"

"No, it's 'charisma'," Mori corrected. "The Dark Blessing apparently speaks in a convincing manner that its victim will listen to."

"Exactly," Pelame clarified. "Once a Pokémon accepts a Dark Blessing, they're stuck with it forever, unless I purify them."

"Wait, what was that?" Solothurn asked. "Purifying?"

"*sigh* I have a confession to make." Pelame moved her neck fur aside to reveal her Alpha Sigil. "I'm a member of the Alpha Bloodline. Watch." Her Alpha Sigil glowed, surprising all the TIGHS members and staff.

"WHAT ARE YOU?!" Komed demanded.

"But only the World Leaders are Alphas!" Redfoot added. "You royalty or something?!"

Pelame's Sigil dimmed. "No, I'm not related to any of the World Leaders. But I _am_ related to Grani, the original Mortal who received Alpha Power."

"Grani?" Trailblazer asked. "You saw that name appear in the texts, too?"

"Excuse me?"

"Let's look." Trailblazer showed the paper with the text he mentioned. "'Alpha Power, just like the Dark Blessing, can be distributed to Mortals. Mortals blessed with Alpha Power attain Alpha Type just as those cursed with the Dark Blessing attain Demon Type. Both being of Immortal origin, only they can stand against one another. I, Grani, accepted Alpha Power, and with it, I will…' and it cuts off right there."

"I've never seen this before," Pelame said. "But before we left Swadfrieg, I spoke to Grani, and to Votum and Arceus. They told me the name of the Dark Blessing's creator."

"Who is it?"

"Unod."

* * *

"Shower time!" shouted the prison guard. Poisonpore was hurried along with many other prisoners to the shower area of the Detention Center. He felt in higher spirits than he usually did. Once the nozzle began spraying, that would be the time he would make his escape. "You first, Poisonpore! Get in!"

"As you wish," Poisonpore responded sarcastically. He entered the shower stall and stood under the nozzle. "You know, do you enjoy this job of watching us all the time when we're out of our cells?"

"If it keeps suspicious activity down, yes, I enjoy it."

"Do you really? Including watching us shower? Including watching us on the toilet? You really think I'm hiding something suspicious in my butt?"

"Prisoners will hide anything anywhere."

"Probably. And to be honest, I've got a secret myself. I'm going to escape right now."

"Oh? And how will you do that, pray tell?"

"Simple." Poisonpore's fur suddenly began to wet itself with something other than the water flowing onto him. It was a purple fluid the guard recognized as an umbreon's natural poisonous sweat. Poisonpore was soon entirely purple. Then he melted into the water and went down the drain, much to the shock of the guard watching him. Poisonpore's PP-Zero Bracelets clattered to the ground. He poked his head through the drain briefly and said, "By the way, do me a favor and laugh in Hotmouth's face for me. And also tell Spikybutt that I'm a free umbreon." He continued on his way down the drain.

* * *

_"__Coming Seventhmonth 16__th__, it's the television sensation that has taken Tradja by storm," said the commercial narration voiceover._

_"__Git thar 'fore the storm hits us!" shouted a prinplup wearing a red pirate captain's hat._

_"__And for the first time, a sneak preview will come to the Twilight Kingdom." After the voiceover spoke, a fancy logo appeared on the screen. The narrator read the title out loud. "'Riptide'!"_

* * *

"Urgh… Arceus it himmel," Hot Air grumbled as the trailer played on his front room TV.

* * *

_"__AYE AYE, SIR!" shouted the saluting luxio, rotom, cottonee, and vaporeon._

* * *

"Seriously, they didn't even get a shiny luxio like Tradja did?!"

* * *

_"__Witness the beginning of the amazing tale of the land of Huro. Seventhmonth 16__th__, 8:00PM. Check local listings."_

* * *

The trailer concluded, leaving Hot Air as jaded as when it started.

"So, now we have a date for when this series dies over here," he said.

**"****Hmm? So entertainment can incite such anger from Pokémon nowadays, I see."**

Hot Air heard the words in his mind, even though no voice was speaking them.

**"****Correct me if I'm wrong, but this show is quite important to you, isn't it?"**

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes," Hot Air responded. "And I suppose you know what Sivik-Ripney is trying to do to it?"

**"****I have a bit of knowledge about that. I also know that this localization does have its defenders. But who will Sivik-Ripney listen to?"**

"Well, hopefully to the _right_ side."

**"****And what would make them realize that your side is the right one? I can say that the protest you inspired accomplished something. Outcries present loud voices that companies have no choice but to listen to. Speak louder."**

"I don't need you to tell me that."

**"****Maybe so. However, there's a new problem. As you know, there are defenders of what you're opposing, and I know of one in particular who wants you dead over this."**

"Yeah, I've gotten threats before. They don't scare me."

**"****Good for you. However, I've spoken with one in particular who has every intent to make good on it. You will need to be able to defend yourself. His power is rather fearsome. If you're so inclined, I can provide you a way to defend yourself."**

"Oh really? You think I need help from some voiceless whatever-you-are?"

**"****Well, think of what else you can do with what I can offer you. Suppose a Sivik-Ripney employee makes you a target of aggression. Think you can handle that? Your reputation precedes you, and many Pokémon like you a lot. But the ones who hate you, do so with a lethal passion. Even though it's over a miniscule thing like a foreign television program, anything can motivate Pokémon to violence nowadays."**

"Tell me about it…"

**"****So, what will do? I can offer you my power. But if you're so inclined, I'll leave you to your own devices. But I will express concern over your odds of survival should you pass my offer up."**

"Yeah, I don't think I'll need whatever it is you're offering me. So, if you please, get out of my mind."

**"****Very well. But just remember what a serious situation you're in. Perhaps your mind will change in the future, but until then, do try to stay alive."**

* * *

It had turned Seventhmonth 1st over in the Twilight Kingdom, where Pugno and Master Lee were currently doing warm-ups for their big spar of the day. The teacher and pupil were able to take this time to chat.

"I heard from my friend Torden that Pelame's in Shizazoto now," Pugno said.

"Oh, neat!" Lee responded. "I've only been there once while I was a combusken. In fact, I evolved into a combusken while I was there. That was about eighteen years ago."

"Were you taking a vacation there?"

"Nope. I was an exchange student. I gotta say, they have quite a neat combat methodology. Some of their techniques are what I'm passing down to you, by the way."

"Oh, I recognized it. Northern Daoyin Kung Fu, right?"

"Right. Of course, there may be some fine details I'm missing in the teaching."

"Oh, not at all, sir. You've been doing great as my teacher."

"Ah, thanks. Well, I'm flattered to hear that. But even though you feel that way…" Lee finished his warm ups and flared up his wrists. "…don't you hold back."

"Don't worry…" Pugno got himself ready for action. "…I won't. I don't intend to lose my first spar against you."

"Well, I won't go down so easily, either."

The young riolu easily sidestepped his teacher's Blaze Kick attack and went in to counter with a Poison Jab. Pugno missed, but managed to avoid a Blaze Kick coming from Lee's other foot. He grabbed onto Lee's leg and landed a Poison Jab on it. He then let go just in time to make another Blaze Kick accidentally connect with his leg.

"My, what a fighting style!" Lee complimented. "I gotta step up my game, then!" By launching a Fire Blast, he did just that. Pugno avoided it by ducking under the small space left by its 大-shape. He rose to his feet and did a running jump at his teacher, going in for a High Jump Kick. Lee countered with a Knock Off, sending Pugno straight to the ground.

_"__That hurt!"_ Pugno thought. He was hit with a Crush Claw attack while he was standing back up. "Time out!" Lee obliged the request. "Sir, are you a Demon-type?"

Lee was shocked to hear such a question from his pupil. "A Demon-type?! Me?!"

"I'm a Fighting-type, just like you. Dark-type moves like Knock Off shouldn't hurt me as seriously as yours just did."

"…"

"Well?!"

"…sorry, Pugno. But you are right… but please lend me an ear before you attack me or run off. In fact…" Lee reached for a pair of PP-Zero Bracelets and put them on his own wrists. "I'm allowed to have these in case of emergencies. Now, please listen to me."

"…all right. But I'm keeping my guard up."

Lee took a seat and explained.

"First of all, I was not so well-known until a few months ago. Hardly anyone was coming here for training, and my dojo was failing and approaching financial debt. No one would refer anyone to me. No one was satisfied with my training, labelling me as a miserable excuse for a fighter. It all made me destitute, so when the Dark Blessing contacted me a week after the Team Static incident, I foolishly accepted it. As soon as I did, my fighting power went through the roof, and soon, Pokémon were referring their combat-savvy pals to me. It brought me out of debt and got me the reputation I have now. And when one of my former pupils went on to be a Royal Guard, even more buzz was generated. In fact, the long queue of Pokémon awaiting training will be arriving tomorrow from all over the country.

"…I'm very happy to have all this, and to have a pupil like you. But… I didn't want it to be because of some evil force. It takes every fiber of my being to resist its seductive words trying to convince me to nefarious deeds. I don't know how much longer I can last. I want to be rid of this awful thing before it turns me into a monster!"

"Sir, you're no monster," Pugno reassured. "In fact, you're the nicest Demon-type I've ever known. However, there is a way for you to be rid of it."

"There is?!"

"Yes, sir. I'll let Pelame know about your situation, and she can Purify you when she returns here."

"Purify? Your girlfriend can do that?"

"Yes, she can—"

"Wait a minute… by any chance, does she have a sigil that looks something like this anywhere on her body?" Lee pointed at the sigil on Pugno's collar. "…whoa… since when were _you_ an Alpha?!"

"An Alpha? Me?"

"Look!" Lee pointed Pugno in the direction of the window, in which Pugno could see his reflection in. As his teacher had found, Pugno did indeed have an Alpha Sigil on his collar. Its golden yellow coloring helped it stand out from his already yellow collar area.

"I never had this before! It must be because I was fighting you!"

"What do you mean? Do you know how this works?"

"Not entirely, although I do know that Alpha Power awakens in a Pokémon who's being attacked by a Demon-type. That's if they're Alphas themselves, which isn't clear until the moment of awakening. But as to how I'm an Alpha, I wouldn't know. I'm sure Pelame does, though. She might have found out something about it during her trip overseas."

"Well, do remember to ask her next time you contact her."

"I will."

* * *

In the afternoon of the fourth day of Seventhmonth, Pelame, Harry, and Jean were on their way back to Yuxiujing City.

"You know, Harry, Jean, it's really refreshing to have been out researching with you two," Pelame said to her two coworkers as they made their way back to town from where they went to research. "Too bad the Jidouko Caverns didn't have anything in them, though. Sorry to have wasted a day there."

"No problem at all, Pelame," Jean answered.

"No day's a waste, after all," Harry added. "Though would it really kill you to shut up about Morikain already? We get it: you two are rivals. It's kinda getting on everyone's nerves."

"I can't help it," Pelame continued. "He's just such an intolerable know-nothing-know-it-all. Besides, it's not like that justifies crummy behavior from Kasumi and Redfoot."

"Well, no, but—"

"Besides, who do they think they are, anyway?"

"Well, I don't know about Kasumi, but Redfoot's jealous of all of us."

"Jealous? Why?"

"Okay, I'll tell you. He didn't graduate with Cum Laude."

"He didn't?" Pelame and Jean both asked, surprised.

"Nope. He graduated with a 3.99 GPA, one-hundredth short of Cum Laude."

"Then how'd he get into TIGHS? Don't applicants need at least a Cum Laude?" Pelame asked.

"He took a supplemental course at an adult ed. facility. It took him another year to get the high marks he needed to add up to Cum Laude when averaged with his Llyria GPA."

"I see. But how does that explain his attitude?"

"I guess he just felt cheated by Llyria. It's likely jealousy of all the other members who managed to get it on their first try, especially the Summa Cum Laudes. Oh, if you only could've seen what Mori had to put up with from him."

"And then _you_ came along and treated him even worse…" Jean added. "I think you two could be really great friends if you'd just give him the chance."

Pelame simply grumbled at that. "…perhaps… but in the meantime, let's just go get some lunch."

After arriving in town after a ten-minute walk, the three researches entered a Hitokage's Burning Tail Noodlehouse to have their lunch.

"Uh oh…" Jean said silently to Harry. "Don't let Pelame know, but Mori's over at that seat near the window."

"Okay, but she'll still likely see him," Harry responded.

"Table for three, please," Pelame said to the charmander waitress. "Also, we don't smoke."

"Okay then," responded the waitress. "This way, please." The three researchers were led to a window seat.

"Just our luck…" Jean whispered to Harry. "You and I take the left seat. That way Pelame will get the seat on the right, putting her back to Mori and his back to her."

"Got it," Harry answered back.

"Here you are," the waitress said, allowing the three Pokémon to take their seats. "Signal for a waiter once you're ready to order. Wash up with this." She gave them a hot towel and left the three researchers to wash their hands and/or paws.

"So, when we're ready to order, how do we signal for a waiter?" Harry asked.

"Like this," Pelame answered, pressing a button on the underside of the table. A light lit up on their table.

"Oh, that's convenient, but I'm not ready to order yet." Harry then saw something that caught his eye. "Never mind, just made my mind up." The charmander waitress returned to take the orders.

"I'll have a Chople Berry Ramen," Pelame ordered.

"One of those for me, too," Jean added.

"And I'll have a Tamato Berry Miso Soup," Harry added.

"Okay. Will you be having any drinks with that?" the waitress asked.

"Water," the three said in unison.

"Got it. Be back soon." The waitress left to deliver the order to the cooks.

"By the way, Pelame, did you know Kasumi?" Harry asked. "She graduated from the same school as you did, after all."

"Yes, I did," Pelame answered. "She really did work hard in History class, adhering to her 'world's best historian' mantra. She really does want to be the best historian ever."

"Don't we all?"

"Yeah, but her desire is especially strong. At least, that's the feeling I got when I went to class with her—"

Mori then slammed directly into Pelame, prompting her to strike him back.

"Hey, what was _that_ for?!" Mori demanded.

"Uh, _you_ slammed into _me_!" Pelame snapped.

"No I didn't! Those jerks stole my table and tossed me over here!"

"Here we go again with the—"

"Pelame, just turn around!" Jean shouted. Pelame sighed and did as told, finding that the seats behind here were now being occupied by a poliwrath, a loudred, a cacturne, and a glameow.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing—" Pelame instantly stopped as soon as the loudred pointed a pistol at her face. "Pleasedon'tshootme."

"Keep yourself quiet, then," the loudred ordered, blowing a puff of cigarette smoke in Pelame's face. "It's lunchtime, after all." He put his gun away and turned to his fellow thugs. "Get a waitress over here. I'm starving!"

"See, Pelame?" Mori whispered as quietly as he could. "Those gangsters stole my table."

"I can see that," Pelame whispered back. "Sorry for hitting you."

"It's okay. But what are we gonna do about those gangsters? We can't just let them do this." Mori pointed to the altercation that was going on.

"And don't keep us waiting any longer than three minutes or else!" the poliwrath commanded. "In fact, get your whole cooking staff working on our orders if you have to!"

"But we have other customers to serve—" the charmander waitress stammered.

"Well, make those other customers wait, then," the cacturne added. "Now get to it!" He shot out a Pin Missile at the waitress, who then ran into the kitchen to give the orders to the cooks.

"Why is nobody doing anything about this?!" Pelame whispered.

"I guess they know better than to take on Pokémon armed with weapons…" Mori answered. "Also, what if they have Dark Blessings?"

"Well, that loudred guy does, but—"

"Excuse me?!"

Pelame felt the barrel of the pistol pressed up against the back of her head.

"Turn around!" Pelame did so. "How do you know about my Dark Blessing?!"

Instinctively, Pelame put up a protective Alpha barrier. The loudred fired his gun, only for the bullet to be deflected back into his hand, puncturing it. He dropped his gun in response, clutching his hand in screaming pain. A few of the other patrons took this chance to wrestle him and the other gangsters to the ground.

"Just a moment!" Pelame said. "Hold that loudred there." As the machoke pinning loudred to the ground obliged Pelame's request, she came forward, getting her Alpha Power ready. She placed a paw on the loudred's forehead. "Cause this one no more trouble, evil spirit!" With a brilliant glow of gold light, the loudred lost his Dark Blessing. Everyone in the restaurant, employee and patron alike, stared at Pelame in stunned silence.

"Was that your Alpha Power just now?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Pelame answered. "This loudred is no longer going to be bothered by the Dark Blessing."

"Urgh… I really liked having it, thooouuugh…" the loudred whined. "Why'd you have to go and steal it from me?"

"Believe me, you're _much_ better off without it. Trust me."

"Well, I'm not going to jail regardless!" The loudred knocked his machoke opponent off of him and ran out the door. Just as he made it out, a hypno caught him with Psychic power. As the others also exited the restaurant, they were also caught (although the hypno had to use more physical means to restrain the Dark-type cacturne). He then left with the four thugs, presumably to turn them in to police custody.

"So, _that_ was the power you inherited from that Grani guy?" Jean asked.

"Yes," Pelame answered. "And this was my third time using it."

"Okay, I don't know who you are, where you came from, or what you just did," the charmander waitress said. "But thanks for saving the restaurant. Those four have been harassing this place for months. That loudred took an especially rotten turn about two weeks ago."

"You're welcome," Pelame responded courteously. Without another word, she left the restaurant.

"Wait, what about your lunch?"

"Cancel my order. I'm not hungry anymore." Pelame left the restaurant. "Harry, Jean, Mori, see you back at the HQ," she called back as she left.

As she rounded a corner two blocks away from the restaurant, someone suddenly covered her face with a wet rag. Before she could attempt to scream through it, the sedative on the rag knocked her out. She was then stuffed into a bag.

* * *

Pelame awakened in a bright room, feeling frightened. Five Pokémon were staring at her, and she was bracing herself for an attack. She noticed one of the Pokémon looked familiar to her.

"Hey, didn't you apprehend those gangsters earlier today?" she asked of the hypno.

"Thanks to you, I did," he answered. "Thank you very much for your help."

"Who are all of you?"

"Glad you asked. Sanjuro?"

"My cue," answered a shiny greninja. "As Pend just introduced, I am Sanjuro. And we five are the Alpha Task Force."


	18. Mortite

Chapter 18 – Mortite

* * *

"I'm Sanjuro, as I just said," said the shiny greninja. "This hypno buddy of mine is Pend. This cute little pancham is Kurotoshiro."

"Kushi for short," Kushi interjected.

"The mighty and adorable teddiursa is Kushi's twin brother Taiyototsuki."

"Yoki for short," Yoki interjected.

"And finally, we have… apparently lost track of our fifth member—"

"I'mhereI'mheresorrysorrysorrygettingfoodforourguest!" said a frantic absol who barged into the room with a plate of ramen.

"OGILVIE!" Pelame cried, running up to the frantic absol. "I finally found you! Thank goodness you're safe! Trailblazer's been looking everywhere for you!"

"Uhh… young lady? Who's Ogilvie?" the absol asked, accidentally disheartening Pelame.

"You mean… you're not him?" she asked.

"Sorry, but no."

"…I see…"

"Hmm. Apparently Sickleseat here reminds you of someone, eh?" Sanjuro said.

"It's just 'Sickle', Sanjuro," Sickle corrected. "And Pelame, who's this Ogilvie I remind you of?"

"Well, you see…" Pelame began, proceeding to explain the situation. She explained about TIGHS, her boss's missing best friend, and her run-ins with the Dark Blessing.

"Well, I only asked about that Ogilvie guy…" Sickle said. "But thanks for filling us in on those other details."

"Yeah, I suppose you know that Alpha Power awakens as a self-defense mechanism against Demon-types," Sanjuro said. "Congratulations on defeating Paras, by the way. Well, since you told us yours, we'll tell you ours. Believe it or not, we all got our Alpha Power from run-ins with the exact same Demon-type. At different times, obviously." Sanjuro lifted his giant tongue up to show his Alpha Sigil located on the underside of its starting point in his mouth. "I got this when I was chasing that loudred jerk down. It appeared after I was hit with an electric blast from his pistol."

"Look here," Sickle added, showing the Alpha Sigil on the back of his head blade. "He aimed for my head after he bound me with what looked like threads, and my Alpha Power awakened and deflected his bullet when I used Protect. Normally, Protect can't block bullets."

"Here's mine," Pend added, showing his Sigil which was located on the back of his neck, under the neck fur. "Just barely missed being rendered quadriplegic by that guy."

"That loudred caused my Alpha Power to awaken, too," Yoki added. He turned around, showing the top side of his tail, where his Alpha Sigil was located. "He shot me in the back with a bullet that felt like fire, then my Alpha Power got awakened and saved me."

"I got mine at the same time as my bro here," Kushi added. He turned around, showing the bottom side of his tail, where his Alpha Sigil was located. "I got hurt a lot worse than Yoki here, though. Five bullets went into my butt that day. That's just what I get for running toward my brother to shove him out of the way of the gunfire."

"You _did_ save my life that day, though."

"Yep. It was worth taking those shots and losing my ability to walk for two days."

"By the way, not that I've been staring at your rear end—" Pelame began.

"Hey, it's no big deal if you were. My species is known for having cute and cuddly keisters."

_"__Wow. Blessing would _really_ like this guy,"_ Pelame though to herself before she continued. "Duly noted. Anyway, those wounds looks like something's growing over them. And those do _not_ look like scabs."

"Yeah, it's been that way since I was shot."

"In fact, it looks like this stuff," Sickle said as he brought a strange material into the room on a barrier shaped like a plate. "Don't touch it; it hurts."

"Maybe so, but I work a job that does research," Pelame replied. She went forward to the strange mineral. It looked like a combination of hardened lava, ice, and a geode. Looking at it filled her with a great sense of dread. She reached a paw out and touched the material.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

It was short, but it was the worst pain Pelame had ever felt in her life. It felt as though she touched molten magma, dry ice, the sharp tip of a sword, been shot by a rifle, electrocuted with 10 amps, and struck with a blunt weapon. All of this pain was localized entirely to her left paw. Tears were in her eyes from the intense pain, and the image she saw in her mind upon touching it left her catatonic.

"Are you okay?" Sickle asked.

Pelame gave no response.

"I think we need to get her back to her home! Someone help me!"

"Well, where's her home?" Sanjuro asked.

"She mentioned someone named 'Trailblazer'. Find him, and I presume we find this girl's home."

* * *

"No matter how quiet it gets around here," Captain Keldeo said, invigorating his soldiers. "Anything could happen. Be on your toes, soldiers. To your posts!"

"Sir!" responded the guards. Pinna was the only one who remained with the captain.

"Captain, may I ask you about something?" he asked.

"Certainly," Keldeo responded. "Is something on your mind?"

"Well, I received a report from Llyria County Detention Center that Paras had been spoken to by my daughter. They said she asked him about a Dark Blessing."

"Is that so?"

"Yep. It's gotten me thinking that the Dark Blessing's been trying to adapt to the rise of Alpha Pokémon I've been hearing about. Not to mention that since Pelame has the ability to purify Dark Blessings out of Pokémon, the Dark Blessing itself will have likely noticed."

"Pinna, with all due respect, you're talking about the Dark Blessing like it's some sort of sentient life form. Now, admittedly, it seems to act one, and it _is_ a threat I'm taking seriously."

"As we all should. But you see, I can't help worrying about Pelame out there. The Dark Blessing appears to be actively hunting her down. So I was wondering: would it be okay if I transferred to the International Guard?"

"Hmm… I suppose so. It could take some time to get the transfer processed, but I'll see what I can do. But I should tell you that you won't have free pick of what country you'll be sent to."

"That's okay. I do care about Pelame, but I trust her and won't follow her around. If anything, I'll be helping clear her future destinations of all threats."

"That's a good way to look at it. She'll be fine. I'll get started on getting you transferred."

"Thanks, sir."

* * *

"What happened?!" Trailblazer demanded once he saw Pelame in her current state. "What did you do to her?!"

"Nothing!" Sickle answered. "She came into contact with this." He brought forth the strange mineral, carried in a plate coated with an Alpha barrier. "Please don't touch."

Trailblazer inspected it. "Hmm… I'm no Alpha, but I can tell this is evil. I'll have Pan look at this. As for Pelame, I'll see to her. In the meantime, I think it's best if you leave her be. Besides, why was she with you and those others outside?"

"Well, you see, I'm with an underground task force made up of Pokémon with Alpha Power. One of my colleagues witnessed this girl—you said her name is Pelame?"

"Yes."

"Good to know. Anyway, one of my colleagues—Kushi, to be exact—heard from Pend—another colleague of mine—that Pelame had Purified a Dark Blessing out of a local gangster who was causing trouble at a local noodle restaurant."

"Ah, yes. I was told by two of my employees about that incident."

"So Kushi went and found her, and then brought her to our HQ. We were hoping she could help us against the local Demon-types, but then she came into contact with that…thing… and went catatonic."

"How exactly did she come into contact with it?"

"She touched it herself."

"And you let her?!"

"She insisted. She said she works where research is done."

"…oh. Seems my guild instilled her with a curious instinct. Well, leave her to me and my staff."

"As you wish. Let me know when she gets better."

"Okay."

"Have a nice day." Sickle left the TIGHS HQ. Trailblazer knelt down to look at Pelame, whose expression went from pure terror to a mixture of terror and sadness.

"Pelame? How are you feeling?" he asked as sympathetically as he could.

No response came from Pelame.

"You're back in HQ now. You have nothing to fear. I'll take you back to your room. Would that be okay?"

Pelame nodded as subtly as she could.

"Okay. Want me to carry you?"

Pelame nodded as subtly as she could.

"All right." He lifted Pelame onto his shoulder and took her to her crew room. "Harry hasn't returned yet. But when he does, I'll let him know that you need some time alone. Just call if you need anything at all. I'll be in my office working out the paychecks for the week." He left Pelame to her thoughts. Her mind was racing at millions of kilometers per second. What she'd seen was too much for her to comprehend, and too terrifying for her to want to. Silently, she crawled onto the bed, pulled the covers over herself, buried her face into the pillow, and cried into it.

Meanwhile, Trailblazer went to visit Pan in his lab. He gave him the sample of the evil mineral.

"I can't stress this enough, Pan," Trailblazer warned. "Do not touch this with your bare hands or claws. In fact, don't let any part of your body touch it."

"Well, I can't promise it won't happen," Pan answered. "But I'll try."

"Thanks."

* * *

Business at the Sing Inn in the Ville Du Soleil Couchant was skyrocketing. The Twilight Kingdom capital city was a very popular tourist spot. For the lucky visitors who got to visit the city's best sections, the Sing Inn was the only choice for lodging as far as they were concerned. Due to this, Neve was making around 15% commission per favorable review of staff.

At a slow moment in the night, the inn's phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered.

* * *

"Hi, mom…" Pelame said, calling from her room phone.

"Oh! Hello, Pelame! How's my little historian doing?" Neve asked.

"*sigh* Well, it's been going downhill lately…"

"Aww… what's wrong?"

"Well, apart from my usual problems here at TIGHS—not the least of which being a complete jerk of a coworker—it's just been Demon attack after Demon attack. Today, one attacked a local Noodlehouse, and a Task Force made up of Alphas noticed, and they showed me a hunk of some weird mineral. And when I touched it…"

Pelame suddenly went silent.

"What? What happened when you touched it?" Neve could hear her daughter sniffle on the other line. "Sweetie, are you feeling okay?"

"It was so scary!" Pelame suddenly bawled through tears. "It hurt me like you wouldn't believe! And I saw something awful!"

"What was it? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Well, *sniff* I guess I'm going to have to… please jot all this down and tell my friends, dad, and King Kangaskhan II, too."

"Okay. I've got paper and a pen. And listen: if at any point you feel uncomfortable with continuing this conversation, just let me know. I don't want you to stress yourself out."

"All right. Well, it was only for a split-second, but it felt like longer, and I remember every detail of it. You see…"

* * *

_Pitch black. No matter where Pelame looked, pitch black was all that could be seen. She tried lighting up the environment with her Alpha Sigil, but what she saw next made her regret that decision. An evil mineral coated the land, and it had all of her friends and family encased in it, frozen with pained and terrified expressions on their faces. It was as if they were begging for any kind of release from their torment. Whatever torment this was, Pelame didn't dare guess._

**_"_****_Vigilans aeternum exitum cupio. Existentia est fatum ad fio nihil."_**

_The frozen figures turned pitch black and emitted a dark aura collecting into the sky. Pelame looked up, seeing the dark aura-clad figure responsible for creating the Dark Blessing. The only detail that could be made out among the darkness surrounding the fiend was the astrolabe-shaped sigil on its torso._

* * *

"Those words have been in my head ever since," Pelame said, finishing her story. "I don't know what they mean, but I'm scared. I'm scared, mom!"

"Have you told your fellow TIGHS members any of this?" Neve asked.

"…no. But thanks for reminding me. I'll do that tonight."

"That's a good idea. They can help you through this. And so can I, along with your dad and all your friends. You're not alone."

"I know, mom. I'm really happy to have all this help."

"And I'm happy to be of help to you, sweetie. I'll pass this message to everyone you specified."

"Thanks, mom. I know I can count on you. I gotta go now."

"Okay, Pelame. Talk to you later."

"Bye, mom. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Neve hung up second. As soon as she did, she contacted Pinna first.

* * *

Taking the advice given to her by her mother, Pelame decided to reveal the nightmare she was given by the evil mineral. This was received in different ways by the TIGHS members and staff.

"Sheesh, that really _does_ sound like a scare," Hokka said.

"I wasn't one of the ones you saw frozen in that stuff, was I?" Jean asked.

"What's an astrolabe?" Redfoot asked.

"Why's this Dark Blessing so fixated on you, anyway?" Ido asked.

"Seriously, Pelame, what are you?!" Komed asked.

"You're okay now, Pelame," Kasumi reassured.

"You can have the room all to yourself tonight if you want, Pelame," Harry offered.

"I really hope you're feeling better," Mori said.

"Everyone, I'm fine now," Pelame said to all the members. "And Harry, I'm not kicking you out. In fact, just in case, I could use the company."

"By the way, Pelame," Pan interjected. "I did some looking-into on that weird hunk of evil, and something strange happened."

"Oh no! You didn't get a nightmare vision, too, did you?!"

"No, but something just as unnerving happened. As I was trying to cut into it, I heard someone scream like he was in pain. That thing couldn't be cut, by the way, no matter which of my tools I tried."

"He even got me to try shooting it with one of my magnums," Solothurn added. "The bullet bounced right off of it and went out the window, straight into the sky."

"Oh, so _that's_ what that ricochet noise was earlier…" Softie mused.

"Not to mention the gunshot that startled me while I was cooking dinner," Rooter added.

"Anyway…" Pan continued. "The voice was screaming in pain, and then it started begging me to break it open."

"Come to think of it, I was hearing that, too," Solothurn added. "He said he wanted out of the 'mortite.'"

"For the sake of convenience, I'm giving that stuff the name 'mortite' as a placeholder. It might not be that stuff's real name. After hearing the apparent victim say that, it was dinnertime. So once I return to my lab tomorrow, I wonder if I'll hear more from whoever was speaking."

"What I'd like to figure out is the meaning of those words Pelame mentioned hearing in her nightmare," Zelda added. "It sounded like words from the Original Language."

"Well, Zelda, that'll be your job, then," Olfac replied. "You know, even here, I can smell the stench of death that wafted from that mortite hunk."

"Everyone," Pelame said. "As I told you when we arrived here, I am a member of the Alpha Bloodline. Yes, I am very afraid of the Dark Blessing and the wicked Immortal who created it. But I'm not going to let it harm any of you. So, I've come to an important decision."

"Oh?" Everyone's' interest was piqued.

"I'm joining the Alpha Task Force. But I'm not leaving TIGHS to do so."

"Just a moment, Pelame," Trailblazer said. "Now, I'm not stopping you from going through with your choice, but you _do_ know it'll require you to face Demon-types, likely on a daily basis."

"I know, Mr. Trailblazer. But the Dark Blessing needs to be stopped."

"I agree, Pelame. And I wish you luck. Well, everyone, we've got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow. Let's all rest up. And remember: if Unod disturbs you in your sleep and tries to peddle the Dark Blessing to you, _do not accept it whatever you do_. Good night, everyone!"

Late that night, Zelda was diligently at work translating the words Pelame mentioned. At 2:39AM on the fifth day of Seventhmonth, she was finally finished. She got the results ready to read aloud during the morning announcement. She then got to sleep, albeit only for five hours and twenty-one minutes.

Promptly at 8:00AM, Trailblazer got the guild gathered for the morning announcement.

"All right, Researchers," he began. "Unfortunately, I must begin the morning announcements for today on an unpleasant note. Were any of you bothered last night by the Dark Blessing?"

"No," answered everyone, to the boss kecleon's relief.

"Oh, thank goodness. I wish I was as lucky. You see, it visited me last night. And please do hear me out on this. I decided to accept it, but only, and _only_ because I know Pelame can purify it out of me. I wanted to give her some practice with that. Unfortunately, it seems like the Dark Blessing suspected that I was up to something, so it ended up passing me by. Oh well; at least I'm not a Demon-type now."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"And yes, I admit that it was stupid of me to even conceive such a plan that would require me to accept that terrible thing. You all have my deepest apologies. Especially you, Pelame."

"Sir, it's all good," Pelame answered. "You'd have made for one noble Demon-type, if you want to know what I think."

"Hehe… you think so?" Trailblazer was blushing.

"Yep. You're exactly the kind of strong-minded and strong-willed Pokémon that the Dark Blessing won't have a chance of swaying to complete evil."

"Oh, Pelame, you flatter me too much. I have to get back to the announcements. Zelda, your turn." Zelda stepped forward.

"Last night, I got to work translating those Original Language words Pelame spoke of hearing in her nightmare," she said. "And this is what I found. 'Vigilans aeternum exitum cupio: Eternally watchful, I yearn for destruction. Existentia est fatum ad fio nihil: Existence is fated to become nothing.'"

"Sounds like fatalism to me," Winifred said.

"Fatalism?" Monater asked. "Isn't that the belief that everything is destined?"

"Yes. It appears that this Unod believes that it's existence's destiny to fade away."

"What kind of nonsense is that?!" Mori asked angrily. "Who made her the new Arceus, huh?!"

"Settle down, Mori," Trailblazer gently ordered. "Unod's not even around anymore. Only her Dark Blessing remains. As long as Pokémon resist it, I don't think she poses any threat. Besides, even if she were around, she wouldn't be able to blink existence out anyway. Only Arceus could do that. And he won't. Now then, let's research! And please beware of Demon-types!"

"Yes, sir!" responded the TIGHS members and staff as they all dispersed to their work.


	19. The Alpha Task Force

Chapter 19 – The Alpha Task Force

* * *

"Sorry, Kushi," Yoki taunted. "I don't speak gagged pancham very well. Could you repeat that please?"

"MMMMFF! MMMM!" Kushi mumbled as he tried in vain to pry his brother's hand off of his mouth. "MMM. MMM. MMM MMM MMMMMMFFF MMMM!"

While this scuffle was happening on the floor, Sickle was trying to escape Sanjuro's grip. Sanjuro was currently using Sickle's tail to chip away at the wall of the room the Task Force was currently trapped in.

"You have the ability to make shurikens out of water," Sickle said.

"And?" Sanjuro asked.

"So use those instead of my tail! It'd be a lot handier!"

"Yeah, but not as much fun. Now be quiet and be a good weapon."

"Uuuurrrrrrrggggghhhh…"

"MMMMM! MMMMM GMMMMM!" Kushi mumbled.

"Nope, still not understanding a word," Yoki taunted. "Oh, and Pend, thanks for telekinetically tightening my grip."

"No problem," Pend responded. "It's fun watching your brother struggle, huh?"

"Sure is!"

_"__How in the world,"_ Pelame thought as she was witnessing this madness. _"Did these complete morons. Gain Alpha Power?!"_ She scrunched her eyes shut and placed one paw to her face in frustration. _"I cannot believe this! We're all stuck here in an enemy's trap, and all _they_ can do is act like fools! Why did I ever join this stupid Task Force?!"_

The date was Eighthmonth 3rd, totaling at twenty-eight days Pelame had worked with the Alpha Task Force. Her thoughts went back to her experiences with them leading up to the madness unfolding in front of her.

* * *

Seventhmonth 5th was the day she joined the Task Force. She went to seek them out after another research day was completed at TIGHS. Trailblazer had referred her to their address, which turned out to be the basement of the Hitokage's Burning Tail Noodlehouse. She went down into the basement of the restaurant, stopping for Pend, who was guarding the entrance.

"Oh, good to see you've recovered from what happened yesterday," Pend greeted. "We've expected you. Come on in."

"Thank you," Pelame responded as she entered. Inside were the other Alphas she met the previous day. "Hello there."

"You joining us, or what?" Sanjuro asked curtly.

"Well, yes, actually—"

"Well then, welcome to the Alpha Task Force! Here, take this Alpha Orb. We'll call you through it if we need you. Okay, see you later!"

"Wait, Mister Sanj—"

"Off you go. Pend, show her out, please."

"Yes, sir," Pend answered, escorting Pelame out of the room.

"Wait a minute! What's happening here?!"

"Slow day. Sanjuro's always itching for action. It's best you leave lest he take his irritability out on you. Besides, you shouldn't worry your TIGHS pals."

So was the Task Force-related events of Seventhmonth 5th.

* * *

Things were normal up until Seventhmonth 13th, when Pelame went with Hokka and Ido to do research at the Old Yuxiujing Castle.

"About two centuries ago," Ido began. "Yuxiujing was the capital of Shizazoto."

"At least until the Hito Dynasty began," Hokka added. "Zedohito, Emperor Kentahito's first ancestor to rule this country, ended up making Daoyin the capital."

"And for the next six generations of his family line," Pelame added. "It's just been one violent rule after the next."

"Hey Pelame, have you ever seen a video of Emperor Kentahito's Crowning Ceremony?" Ido asked.

"No."

"Oh, we gotta show it to you when we get back to the HQ," Hokka responded. "He let his ancestors _have it_ for their atrocities."

"Yeah, I've heard he's tried as hard as he could to distance himself from his ancestors," Pelame responded. "They're why he hates despotism and violence in general. I remember when the Swadfrieg War was going on, Kentahito had closed the borders to all Twilits and Friegans. That's actually a part of why I never met my dad until I was 1.5 years old. My mom raised me in Rogokosoka until the war ended."

"Rogokosoka? Ido and I went to high school there!"

"Oh, that's neat! Anyway, honestly, I can relate to Kentahito. Although I don't have the same reasons as he does, I hate violence, too. Maybe he hates it more, considering that he supposedly stashed the portraits of his ancestors here."

"And that's what we're investigating."

"Speaking of which, I think I just found one," Ido said. She pointed at a painting of a magmar. "Empress Agnihito. Third generation of the Hito Dynasty."

"She was the one who attempted to capture Swadfuego, if I'm not mistaken," Pelame said. "She thought she could somehow take his fiery power from him."

"Yep, and boy was she wrong. She definitely was the dumbest of the Hito Dynasty line. She didn't even know what she wanted that power for."

"Probably just to say 'I've got it! You don't!'"

"What a selfish tyrant!" shouted an unfamiliar voice. The three researchers noticed that a young tyrunt entered the ruins. "I was wondering why this painting was in my favorite hangout spot. Now I feel like eating it now that I know who that's a painting of!"

"Well, to be fair, Shizazoto's had worse rulers," Hokka responded.

"Yeah, maybe. By the way, did any of you see my pal Immolga anywhere?"

"Who?"

"Immolga. He's a charizard, and I saw him enter these ruins. Seen him or not?"

"Sorry, but we haven't," Pelame answered. "We'll keep our eyes out for him."

"Thanks. If you find him, let him know his pal Riley—that's me— was looking for him. I gotta get going." The little tyrunt then left the ruins.

Looking deeper into the ruins for more discoveries, they ended up discovering something else. A rock pile was in the middle of a corridor. The flaming tip of a tail was sticking out of it.

"I think this is him!" Pelame cried. "That Immolga guy! Help me save him!"

The three researchers worked together to dig out the trapped Pokémon. In ten minutes, they did so, finding that the charizard had taken some heavy damage from the rock slide that buried him. For one thing, his jaw had been crushed, disfiguring it and rendering him unable to speak. From the sound he was making, Pelame guessed that she was being thanked.

"Are you Immolga?" Pelame asked. Immolga nodded in response.

"Your pal Riley was looking for you," Ido said. "Did you two have something planned for today?" Immolga nodded.

"Well, I'm sure he'll visit you in the hospital. We gotta get you there to fix you up."

At that Immolga shook his head frantically and tried to run off. His damaged body wouldn't let him get far as he almost immediately collapsed. He couldn't even manage to crawl away.

"Hey, calm down! You'll hurt yourself even worse!" Pelame scolded. "Hokka, Ido, keep an eye on him. I'm going out to get an ambulance here." Pelame left to do just that.

* * *

In the city limits, Pelame was making the 119 call on a streetside phone for quadruped Pokémon. She almost dialed 911, having forgotten by force of habit that Shizazoto had a different emergency phone number than her home country.

"119, what's your emergency?" answered the operator.

"I found an injured Pokémon in the old castle," Pelame said. "He needs an ambulance immediately!"

"Okay, we'll send one to the castle."

"Thanks." Pelame hung the phone up and returned to the castle. She found the ambulance vehicle waiting there. Two nurse miltank were loading Immolga into the ambulance.

"Thank you all for finding this guy," said one of the nurses. "The police have been looking for this rotten arsonist. He's going straight to jail after he heals."

"Wait, did you say he's an arsonist?!" Ido asked frantically.

"Yep. Thankfully, he didn't manage to destroy anything with the fire he started and no one got hurt, but an antique store was rendered unstable thanks to him. That building could come down at any moment."

"How'd he manage to do structure damage without destroying any items inside the building he torched? Is he just an idiot or what?"

"Absolutely. Thanks again for your help."

The ambulance left with the criminal charizard in tow. So was the event of Seventhmonth 13th. It would be two days later that they'd catch Immolga's accomplice.

* * *

The first day Pelame began to notice the idiocy of the Alpha Task Force was on Seventhmonth 19th. Since that was the day King Kangaskhan II would be meeting with Emperor Kentahito on an important diplomatic matter, all official Zotoan businesses took that day as a holiday. Being as their current location was Shizazoto, TIGHS followed suit. But as the Alpha Task Force was not an official business, they elected to operate.

"Pelame, be careful out there," Trailblazer advised. "Just because today's a business holiday doesn't mean all of the populace will observe it as well. And as usual, please keep your wits about you around those Demon-types."

"I will, sir," Pelame answered. "See you later!" She waved goodbye to her boss and left for her other job. She'd been shown a way into the Hitokage's Burning Tail Noodlehouse so as to enter the Task Force HQ even when the building was closed. All she had to do was show her Alpha Power to a small spot on the back door to gain entry. Once she did that and went down into the basement, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Yoki had Kushi pinned to the ground and was clamping his mouth shut with his hands. Sanjuro was sharpening a Water Shuriken on Sickle's tail. Pend was restraining Sickle to make it easier for Sanjuro to do so.

"Uh… hi…?" Pelame greeted, completely unsure of what to make of what she was seeing.

"Oh, hey there, Pelame," Yoki greeted, still facing his brother. "Here to help bust more Demons?"

"Well, if we find any this time. The last few days were total busts."

"Well, check with Sanjuro. I'm a bit busy here."

"With what? It just looks like you're wrestling with your brother."

"Gotta keep myself fit, you know." Kushi was finally able to break out of Yoki's grip and toss him to the ground.

"I concur, bro!" he bragged. "Take this!" But before he could act, Yoki threw him, not paying attention to where. He ended up flying in Pelame's general direction, causing her to instinctively put up an Alpha Barrier, which Kushi collided rear-first into. "Nice catch, Pelame. You don't happen to have the ability to fix broken tailbones, do you?"

"Asked the perfectly-healthy pancham who just climbed back onto his feet," Yoki interjected.

"It still hurts, you know! Besides, you threw me at the speed of a machamp's Vital Throw, Mister I-Gotta-Always-Wrestle-Someone!"

"Wrestle?" Pend asked from afar. "_That's_ what you think you were doing with Kushi, Yoki?"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?!" Yoki demanded.

"Come on, we all know how pathetic you are at fighting. You couldn't even defend yourself against a loudred, who your brother literally risked his butt to save you from."

"Hey speaking of which…" Kushi said, glancing down at his bottom. "The mortite's gone!"

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing to take a look. They then looked at Pelame.

"What?" she asked, surprised.

"As soon as my butt bumped into your Alpha Barrier," Kushi said. "The mortite growing on it disappeared. You some kinda super-Alpha or something?"

"No! …I don't… maybe…"

"Well, good thing we have you on board, Pelame," Sanjuro congratulated. "Bet you want to use that talent of yours on some Demons, eh?"

"I suppose—"

"Then let's get going! We heard of one allegedly prowling around the county border to Makong Town. Task Force, let's go!"

"On our way!" shouted the Task Force members.

"Oh hey, you know what I just realized?" Yoki asked.

"What?" Kushi answered. He then got a swift kick to his bottom from his brother's right foot.

"Now that your butt's all better, I can do _that_ again!" Everyone but Pelame and Kushi laughed.

* * *

The Alpha Task Force gathered outside a ground window. They peered through it and observed as a meeting went on in the basement of the building.

"There's our target," Sanjuro whispered, pointing at the vileplume. "A Flower Called Stunning. He runs the Paralyzers. The exeggutor, tangela, and heracross next to him are his subordinates. They're a local organized criminal gang here."

"Those are still around?" Pelame asked apprehensively.

"Yep. A Flower Called Stunning gained a Dark Blessing, judging by the tight grip he now has on the criminal underworld here. Looks like he's trying to intimidate the Bodies right now."

"Hey, aren't those…?" Pelame recognized four of the gangsters in the room. "Those are! Those are the ones who caused trouble at the Noodlehouse! I purified that loudred!"

"You sure did," Pend said. "So I don't imagine he'll be happy to see you."

"But didn't you take them to jail, Pend?"

"Tried to. They got away."

"One would think someone with Psychic powers would be able to keep a tighter grip on other Pokémon," Kushi wisecracked.

"Yeah… if only I could've gripped them as tightly as your brother grips your mouth."

"Or as tightly as Sanjuro is gripping my tail right now…" Sickle complained.

"Sanjuro, what are you doing with Sickle?" Pelame asked.

"Oh, didn't you know his tail makes a great sword?" Sanjuro answered. "Check it out! I prop him up here on my tail fin—"

"Which really digs into my stomach, by the way."

"—then I pivot his butt so that his tail makes for a good sword!"

"Shhh! They'll hear you!" Pelame said, slightly panicking.

"Ehh, they heard us by now," Yoki responded. "Time for action! Watch how we roll, Pelame!" Yoki picked Kushi up and tossed him through the window, breaking it. Kushi landed on his tail, and immediately got the attention of all eight gangsters in the room.

"Yoki, are you out of your mind?!" Pelame scolded. "Why would you throw your own brother through a window at eight armed gangsters?! Are you trying to get him killed or someth—" Suddenly, Pelame was shot at. Although the shot missed, she screamed in fear and immediately took cover along the wall next to the window.

"It's go time, guys!" Sanjuro declared, bursting into the room along with the rest of the Task Force. Pelame was still hiding.

"Well met, Stunning," Sickle taunted.

"Uh, Daggerderriere, leave the taunts to me," Sanjuro said.

"Oh yes, because calling a gangster by the last part of his name _totally_ counts as a taunt."

"Well, to a guy so egotistical as to—"

"Ohhhh, this is good," Pend added. "Sanjuro, Mister Ego himself is calling someone out for being an egotist. The pot just called the kettle black!"

"Said pot himself being black," Sickle added.

"Whoa, hey, leave my shiny coloring out of this, Acinars—"

All the gangsters began firing at the Task Force members. They all took cover behind whatever objects in the room could hide them.

"So, what exactly was your plan again, Yoki?" Kushi asked. "Well, after the part where you threw me through the window."

"Well, before Pelame started chewing me out," Yoki answered. "I was gonna join you and whoop some gangsters with you and the other guys. But, of course, miss 'What Were You Thinking' out there started momming all over me."

"Yeah, why'd Sanjuro hire her again?" Before any answers could be given, a chunk of the overturned table they were hiding behind got chipped off by a shotgun blast. "Whuh-oh! Someone got out a double barrel!"

"Uh, did you forget this is A Flower Called Stunning we're contending with?"

"No. What's your point?"

"The point is he's a gun expert. And as an expert, he put a third barrel on his shotgun!"

"Can neither of you count?!" Sanjuro said, dragging the two brothers with him to another cover area as he tossed Water Shurikens at the heracross backing A Flower Called Stunning up, disarming him. "A Flower Called Stunning has _four_ barrels on his shotgun, and all four of those barrels are firing mortite bullets!"

"So that's all he's doing with his Dark Blessing is just loading his handheld Hydreigon-stick—"

"A hydreigon only has _three_ heads, Kushi!"

"Sheesh, get off my butt about it, already! I can count! Name me a Pokémon that has four heads and that's what I'll name A Flower Called Stunning's gun! I'm sure I've got time to do that, since he's the only one who's still armed."

"That's right I'm still armed!" said A Flower Called Stunning. "So why don't'cha all say hello to my four buddies, huh?!" A Flower Called Stunning pulled the trigger of his quadruple-barreled shotgun, only for the bullets to be blocked by a timely Alpha Barrier. From outside, Pelame cast it to protect the Task Force members. She then placed another one around his weapon and yanked it out of his hands, tossing it against the wall and destroying it.

"I overheard something about you being a gun expert, Stunning," Pelame said, jumping down into the room. "I'm not so sure about that, considering how easily I broke it." Pelame then realized what she said. "Ugh, I can't believe I just spoke a one-liner like the rest of you guys."

"Hey, there's no problem with one-liners, Pelame," Yoki responded. "Sure is a nice break from the nagging."

"Well, you've all still got our moves to contend with!" shouted A Flower Called Stunning.

"Don't think so!" Sanjuro responded, hitting everyone with an Ice Beam. "Shoulda moved faster! Pelame, that's your cue!"

"Got it!" Pelame approached the frozen vileplume and enveloped him with her Alpha Power. "Your days as a Demon-type are over now. Return to who you were!" The Dark Blessing inhabiting A Flower Called Stunning was banished.

"Uh, Pelame, what was that you just said against one-liners—"

"Shut up," Pelame snapped.

* * *

The police arrived to place all eight of the organized gangsters under arrest.

"Thank you for all your help," said one of the throh officers. "About time something was done about these cretins."

"No problem, officer," Sanjuro responded. "Our newest member deserves a lot of the credit for this, though. And by the way…"

"Yes?"

"What's to be done with these gangsters' assets?"

"Well, they'll be donated to charity. The stolen items have been out of the possession of their original owners for too long to be recognized as their items according to the law. As for the money they made off their illegal operations, all of it goes to charity."

"But don't we, the ones who caught them, get a share?"

"Sorry, but it's forbidden by the law."

"Hmph. Well then, just try to catch us doing _you_ jerks a favor anymore." Sanjuro and his fellow Task Force members angrily stormed off. Only Pelame kept her mood the same. She couldn't resist having to wonder about Sanjuro's sudden outburst.

"Mister Sanjuro," she said. "It's okay with me that I'm not getting any reward for what we did today."

"Yeah, well, that's good for you," Sanjuro answered, still feeling bitter. "The rest of us, on the other hand, can't help but feel we've been slapped right in the face. We might as well have never bothered to help out."

And so was the event of Seventhmonth 19th. As Pelame would notice in the coming days over the course of similar raid missions going very similarly to this day's, the Alpha Task Force really weren't much in the department of a good team. And she was especially dismayed that no other mission yielded any Demon-types for her to purify.

* * *

Not even during a cultural festival could Pelame escape embarrassment from the Task Force. The day was Eighthmonth 1st, the day of Shizazoto's Mid-Summer Festival, the event Pelame had most been looking forward to next to the upcoming trip to Mujizoto Tower.

"Okay, Researchers, ready to indulge in some authentic Zotoan culture?" Trailblazer asked, getting the guild ready to depart.

"YES, SIR!" answered the staff and researchers.

"Excellent! Now then, let's get some guidelines established. First off, please don't consume too much sake. Nothing more embarrassing than making a drunken fool of yourself during a traditional holiday. Next off, beware of scammers and pickpockets. There are Pokémon who really would sink low enough to exploit this festival to commit crimes. And finally, have fun! Let's go experience Zotoan culture!"

"YES, SIR!"

And so they departed for Yuxiujing Plaza, where the festival was taking place.

"You know, I've always wanted to attend one of these festivals here," Mori said once they arrived. "The ones in my hometown of Henkin were nice, but we always heard on TV about how Yuxiujing always had the best—"

"Yeah, no one asked for your life story, Mori," Pelame interrupted.

"And no one asked for your opinion on it, Pelame!" Mori snapped back.

"Now, now, we're at a festival," Trailblazer gently chided, noticing Pelame and Mori were exchanging that all-too-familiar look to each other that he learned to recognize as the warning sign that they were arguing. "Let's enjoy it together. No need to argue."

"He started it, sir," Pelame said to her boss.

"It doesn't matter to me who started it. I'll finish it if I have to. I don't want to hear—pardon the expression coming from a deaf Pokémon—of you two fighting while we're here. Understood?"

"Yes, sir…" Pelame and Mori answered.

"Good. Now let's all bask in Zotoan culture." That was the signal for everyone to disperse and partake in the festival. "Pelame, may I see you for a moment?"

"Sure," Pelame answered, walking back to her boss. "What is it?"

"Well…" He and Pelame both took a seat at the Plaza's fountain. "By the way, isn't that fountain statue just a marvelous likeness to Badazoto?"

"It certainly is." Pelame looked at the Lugia statue as well. "Shizazoto's Sea Guardian…"

"Anyway, I just want to assure you, first of all, this is not yet another lecture on how you should just let Mori alone. I want to discuss something more important with you."

"Yes, sir?"

"It's about the Alpha Task Force, and in all honesty, I should've brought this up with you earlier. Have you noticed any suspicious behavior from them? Particularly from Pend?"

"No. Although I'd almost welcome that, since what I _am_ noticing from them is starting to make me regret joining them."

"What would that be?"

"They're idiots! Absolute morons! Every mission we go on has just been one disaster after another! Kushi and Yoki bicker even more than Mori and I do, Sanjuro keeps jumping the gun under the impression that he's the most awesome Alpha ever, Sickle keeps letting Sanjuro and the others walk all over him, and Pend seeks out whoever's currently bickering and eggs them on! I've never been with a more frustrating group of Pokémon in all my life! TIGHS is the better of my two jobs by far."

"Heh, well, I'm flattered to hear—well, not really _hear_, per se—be told that. I suppose that's why you've been extra-stressed lately. You've been snapping at Mori more than usual, for one thing. Plus, the other researchers have been telling me that you've been exuding a foul attitude the past few weeks. To put it bluntly, they're rather reluctant to work with you when you're like this."

"I can't help it! Between the Alpha Task Force, Mori, and most of all The Dark Blessing—and by the way, Mustard is still on the loose, and the Dark Blessing is likely gaining more pawns still—it's just been stressing me out so much. I don't know how much more I can take! I feel like I'm losing my mind!"

"That's why we at TIGHS want to help you. Yes, your fellow researchers are getting annoyed with your attitude lately, but they know why it's there. And they want to do what they can to help you out. Same with the staff, and same with me. You can always talk to me about anything at all. You know that I want to be more than just 'the boss.'"

"I do know that, Trailblazer."

"So, on that note, do you want to enjoy the festival with me?"

"Absolutely, sir!"

"All righty then! Zotoan culture, here we come!"

* * *

"Don't get me wrong, I _do_ know the things Pelame's going through," Mori said to Jean as they left a chocolate stand. "But I don't think that gives her the right to treat me like garbage."

"I agree," Jean answered. "It's getting really annoying. I mean, _why_ does she even feel that way about you, anyway?"

"Heck if I know. But I don't want to dwell on it."

"Me neither. And like you said, she's going through a lot lately. If I were the one all that stuff's been happening to, I think I'd have—is that an Alpha Sigil on that pancham's bum?"

Mori looked over to the riceball stand where Kushi and Yoki were.

"You got seaweed in my rice!" Kushi yelled in his brother's face.

"Well _you_ got _rice_ in my _seaweed_!" Yoki shot back. He then took Kushi's riceball to his nose.

"Uh oh. Looks like you got your nose in my riceball _and_ my seaweed!"

From afar, Mori and Jean couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"Are those the Task Force Pelame works with?!" Jean asked incredulously.

"Two of the members of it," Mori answered.

"Sheesh, what jerks! Even you and Pelame don't argue over something _that_ miniscule!"

* * *

Further into the Plaza's grounds, Harry and Komed sought out the stage where Taikos were being played for a traditional dance that many local Pokémon were taking part in.

"Think they have rental dance kimonos in my size?" Komed asked.

"Definitely," Harry answered. "All sizes are accounted for. Want to go rent some and join the dance?"

"Of course. Race you there."

Being the smaller one and the faster runner, Harry got to the kimono rental booth first. He ended up bumping into Pend once he did.

"Pardon me, sir," Harry apologized.

"No problem at all, scrawny guy," Pend answered. He walked past Harry and paid the price to rent a kimono. Komed entered the booth just as Pend left.

"Find anything good?" she asked.

"Not yet," Harry answered. "Although that hypno guy rented one I think you would've liked. Sorry…"

"No problem. I think this'll match me better. Blue and white, to match my gold-yellow and pink skin. It's perfect for me."

"I suppose so. As for me, I'll just go with my favorite color. So, orange it is."

The two researchers made their minds up and paid for their rentals.

* * *

Pelame and Trailblazer had been all over the festival, taking pictures at the Plaza's top spots and at their favorite festival attractions. They were now under the Festivity Tree, looking over their souvenirs.

"So, what's for who?" Trailblazer asked.

"Well, the combat scroll is for Pugno," Pelame began. "Since he wants to be a Royal Guard. The fan's for Blessing because she likes looking pretty. The CD sticker of Gusamaron is for Torden because he likes shows like 'Gusamaron's Silly Life'. The dagger is for my dad because he likes to collect foreign weaponry. And the Hina Doll of Princess Jurihito is for my mom because she's always wanted one of the current heir. It was the only Hito Dynasty Hina Doll she was missing before moving to the Twilight Kingdom."

"You sure splurged on that last one. That took almost all of your first paycheck. But it sure is nice to see it went to such a heartfelt set of gifts. And believe me, Pelame; it's bragging rights to have a full set of Hina Dolls of the Royal Family."

"Heehee, yeah. I'm sure she'd be the envy of everyone here in Shizazoto if they could see it once she receives this new one."

"Ooh, what a nice likeness of me!"

Pelame looked to her left and noticed a pleasantly familiar face.

"Juri! Long time, no see!"

"Well met, indeed, Pelame!"

"Oh, you've met the Princess before?" Trailblazer asked.

"I sure did! She was visiting the Twilight Kingdom a few months ago."

"Unfortunately, I had to cut my vacation short when I bribed a selfish salamence into helping Pelame fight Team Static. I ended up paying 5 million Pokéns to that jerk."

"Oiy. I don't imagine your father was happy with you for that…"

"Nope, he certainly wasn't. I'm banned from world travel for two years. Oh well."

"I still do appreciate your help, Juri," Pelame said. "And it's wonderful to see you again. By any chance, is your father here?"

"Nope. But King Kangaskhan II is."

"He is?!"

"Yep. He's been looking for you, actually. I met him earlier today, and he asked me to come find you. It sounded important."

"Can you take me to him, please?"

"Certainly. Follow me."

"Okay. Be back soon, Trailblazer."

"Take your time, Pelame," Trailblazer said. Pelame gathered her things together and followed Juri.

* * *

King Kangaskhan II had been waiting in the TIGHS HQ, which Juri and Pelame just reached.

"He wanted a place he could trust was private," Juri said. "So I led him here and told him I'd fetch you. He's just inside."

"All right," Pelame answered. "Thanks, Juri. I'll see you back at the festival when I'm done."

"Okay. See you then." Juri returned to the Plaza. Pelame entered the HQ and shut the door behind her. She entered her room, where the King was waiting.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Pelame said, bowing to her King.

"The pleasure's all mine, Pelame," responded the King. "You may rise." Pelame did so and took a seat on the bed.

"What did you need to talk to me about?"

"Well, Pelame, I'm afraid it's not entirely good news. In fact, it's actually very serious. But I'll begin with the part that _is_ pleasing. You may find that this will explain why you're such a prodigy with Alpha Power."

"Me, a prodigy?"

"Absolutely. You actually have two Alpha Lineages running in your veins. Both your mother and your father have been discovered to be Alphas."

"Is that so? Then, are they okay? Because, except for you and the other World Leaders, Alphas only awaken their power when attacked by a Demon-type."

"That's correct. That's what caused the Alpha Power of your parents and our new guard trainee Pugno to awaken."

"Pugno's a guard now? That's great!"

"Yes, he is. He's been on the job for six days now, and he's been doing great. And as for the new batch of Alphas, your father also has the ability to Purify Demons. So you are no longer alone in your struggle against the Dark Blessing. But I'm afraid that's where what I have to tell you stops being pleasant."

"How so?"

"Three new Alphas being revealed puts the number of known Alphas in the world up to four. Nine if one insists on counting those incompetent fools calling themselves a Task Force."

"Yeah, they've got no chances against the Dark Blessing."

"But even so, that's only a sparse amount in comparison to how many Pokémon the Dark Blessing is snatching up. It's getting desperate, and it's getting stronger. Worse still, it's going after stronger Pokémon. And the worst part is, now it's giving more than one helping of itself to certain Pokémon."

"…impossible…"

"One such Demon—I believe you identified him as Mustard—now has no less than three Dark Blessings coursing through him. He waged a fiery attack over in Ordoxivia, leaving many injured. Some of the injured were not able to recover. The ones who were able to get away fled to my country out of fear, knowing that the Twilight Kingdom has an impressive track record against Demon-types. I have welcomed them and given them shelter, so don't worry. But what concerns me is how such terrible things have been able to happen. That's why I met with Emperor Kentahito on the 19th of last month. I wanted to get his permission to station some of my troops here to help fight off Demon-types."

"Oh, please tell me he said 'yes' to your proposal."

"Unfortunately, he did not. He insisted that he could protect his country himself. It did discourage me, but I do know how sensitive he is to such things. He likely interpreted my suggestion as an occupation attempt not unlike what his grandfather Waruhito tried with Pumbloomberg. But ultimately, I think he's risking too much."

"Yeah…"

"However, even back home, Demon attacks are happening. On the 17th of last month, an overzealous fanatic of that Tradjan program 'Riptide' burned down the Foreign Localization Office of the Sivik-Ripney Building, effectively delaying localization of the show. Although no one was hurt in that attack, it's alarming to think the Dark Blessing can exploit literally anybody. Plus, the culprit escaped, and no one knows his location. At any rate, the Dark Blessing is gaining more victims and more power. Please be on your guard, Pelame. That's all I have to say."

"Thank you, Sire. I hope both Mustard and the other one you mentioned will be caught soon so I can Purify them. Oh, before you go, may I ask you a small favor?"

"Certainly."

"May you take these back to the Twilight Kingdom with you? They're gifts to my family and my friends. I labeled them."

"Of course I will. In fact, my private plane leaves in about two hours. I'll have to get going now."

"Have a safe trip back, Sire!"

"I will. Enjoy the rest of the Festival, Pelame!"

The two Pokémon left the TIGHS HQ for their respective destinations.

* * *

"Why is that hypno dancing with an empty kimono?" Redfoot asked as he stumbled upon the dance area.

"Come to think of it," Kasumi observed. "Didn't Harry and Komed say he rented one kimono?"

"Eh, who cares? I'm going over to the kendo demonstration show."

"Hey, me too!"

* * *

"So, what did King Kangaskhan II have to say?" Trailblazer asked once Pelame met up with him at the Plaza.

"I'll tell you about it after we get back from the festival," Pelame answered. "It wasn't good, so I'd like to enjoy myself as much as I can for now."

"Okay then. That's an excellent idea, actually. So, what did you want to do?"

"Well, there's going to be a kendo demonstration in a—oh, wait a minute… it's already happening according to this schedule!"

"Then let's get going!"

Pelame and her boss arrived at the Plaza's main stage, where the kendo demonstration had been underway for the past forty-five minutes.

"Hey, Pelame," Mori said once Pelame sat next to him without her even knowing it.

"What?!—oh, it's only you," Pelame responded.

"Yeah. Look, Pelame, you may not want to be here right now. Your Alpha Task Force pals are here."

"Where?!"

"Shhh! Not so loud!" Mori brought his voice down to a whisper. "Jean and I saw Kushi and Yoki tossing riceballs at each other. And when I met up with Harry, he said he saw Pend renting a kimono, returning to rent another one, and dancing with the empty one. So far, Sanjuro and Sickle are unaccounted for."

"Thanks for the update. And for once, I really do mean that."

"Uhh, Mori, you spoke too soon," Hokka said from behind Mori. "Look there." The three researchers did so.

"Your custom sheath, mister," said the heatmor in the weaponry booth. "Though I still gotta wonder what in the world you'd need a sheath in this shape for."

"Surprise present for—oh, here he is," Sanjuro answered as he noticed Sickle. He sidled up against the side of the booth, out of Sickle's sight. Once the unsuspecting absol walked by it, Sanjuro quickly slipped the sheath onto his tail and tossed the strap over his shoulder. "Surprise, Tachituchus!" He then tightened the shoulder strap, firmly affixing the sheath onto Sickle's tail.

"What in the—?! What is this?!" Sickle demanded as he tried to shake the sheath off of himself. "Sanjuro, get it off! Get it off of me! It's still hot!"

"No it isn't! At least not red-hot. It's cooled down."

"I can still feel it burning me! It's like hot water!"

"Okay, if you insist…" Sanjuro shot a small Ice Beam at the sheath, freezing it. This created a new problem, as now Sickle had a hunk of frozen metal affixed to his bottom. He tried banging it against the floor to break it off, but to no avail. From afar, Pelame, Mori, Hokka, and Trailblazer were watching this all unfold.

"_Those_ are the Task Force guys you work with?!" Hokka asked in bewilderment.

"If this keeps up, I won't be working with them for long," Pelame said.

"Heh, no wonder they've gotten nowhere in solving the string of robberies that's been happening all over town," added an elekid sitting next to Hokka.

At that moment, Sickle was finally able to shake the frozen sheath off of his behind. It went flying, and then it landed on the ground screeching to a halt. It didn't come to a proper stop, however. Kushi's rear ended up stopping it.

"YEEEOOWW!" Kushi yelled.

"Did that teddiursa seriously just shove that pancham's butt into the path of that sheath?!" Hokka asked with disgust in his voice. "I hope he knows how lucky that pancham is that that sheath wasn't moving fast enough to impale him!"

"Thanks, Yoki!" Kushi said. "Now my butt's gonna have a painful pulse to it! Jerkwad!" He then picked his brother up and tossed him at a nearby booth, knocking over a bunch of its items. Pelame had seen enough. She got up out of her seat and stormed off.

"See you all at the HQ," she said to her boss and fellow researchers.

"Oh, hey there, Pelame!" Sanjuro greeted as she walked by. "How's the festival been going—"

"Until you and your group of morons showed up, it was going great," Pelame snapped. "Thanks, Sanjuro! You ruined the Mid-Summer Festival!" She then continued on her way.

"Well, good evening to you, too!" Sanjuro snapped back.

Unfortunately, Pelame would end up being wrong to think that this would be her worst day with the Alpha Task Force.

* * *

Only two days later, Pelame managed to miraculously convince the Task Force to investigate a string of robberies that had happened around town. And that would end up leading to them being trapped in an underground chamber. And, as usual, chaos ensued.

"Sorry, Kushi," Yoki taunted. "I don't speak gagged pancham very well. Could you repeat that please?"

"MMMMFF! MMMM!" Kushi mumbled as he tried in vain to pry his brother's hand off of his mouth. "MMM. MMM. MMM MMM MMMMMMFFF MMMM!"

While this scuffle was happening on the floor, Sickle was trying to escape Sanjuro's grip. Sanjuro was currently using Sickle's tail to chip away at the wall of the room the Task Force was currently trapped in.

"You have the ability to make shurikens out of water," Sickle said.

"And?" Sanjuro asked.

"So use those instead of my tail! It'd be a lot handier!"

"Yeah, but not as much fun. Now be quiet and be a good weapon."

"Uuuurrrrrrrggggghhhh…"

"MMMMM! MMMMM GMMMMM!" Kushi mumbled.

"Nope, still not understanding a word," Yoki taunted. "Oh, and Pend, thanks for telekinetically tightening my grip."

"No problem," Pend responded. "It's fun watching your brother struggle, huh?"

"Sure is!"

_"__How in the world,"_ Pelame thought as she was witnessing this madness. _"Did these complete morons. Gain Alpha Power?!"_ She scrunched her eyes shut and placed one paw to her face in frustration. _"I cannot believe this! We're all stuck here in an enemy's trap, and all _they_ can do is act like fools! Why did I ever join this stupid Task Force?!"_

Pelame had had enough at this point. She used Iron Tail to slam away at a part of the wall in frustration.

_"__Why?! Why?! Why?! WHY?!"_ she wondered with each strike. For some reason, the other Task Force members stopped what they were doing when they noticed the wall Pelame was attacking was cracking.

"Wait, Pelame, stop!" Sanjuro ordered.

"Not a chance, you useless idiot!" Pelame retorted. "_I'm_ getting us out of here, as _I_ apparently am the _only_ one here who can do anything without making a complete fool of myself! So shut up!" With one final strike, the wall came down. And when Pelame saw what was behind it, she had no words. She remembered what the elekid from the festival had said about robberies. She entered the chamber and looked over what was inside. She remembered each of the reports she heard from the day before: missing money, video game systems, expensive liquor products, and even a scuba tank. She looked back at the Task Force members with a look of pure fury on her face.

"Thosearen'tours," Sanjuro quickly said.

Pelame took a deep breath. And then she calmly said, "Yes, Sanjuro. They're _not_ yours. They belong to Pokémon who live in this town."

"Great work, Pelame!" Pend congratulated. "Looks like this case is solved! Good thing we decided to listen to you after all!"

"I should say so, Pend. And you know, it really was a good idea for me to have joined the Alpha Task Force. I learned something important in my time with you guys."

"Really?" Sickle asked. "What have you learned?"

"A very simple lesson, but nonetheless an important one. From you guys, I learned that even Alphas can be absolute scumbags!" Pelame's calm demeanor went right back to fury at that moment. "I should've known better! I of all Pokémon should've known that absolutely anyone can be good or bad, even if they may be Alphas or Demons! And what a naïve fool I was to not figure out sooner that you all are not only embarrassing morons, but also petty thieves! How can you justify yourselves?!"

"Well, Pelame, if you know that so well, then you know why we did this!" Sanjuro answered. "We've done so many good things for this stupid town, and what do we get for it?! NOTHING AT ALL! No rewards! Nothing more than 'thank you', the most meaningless set of words that can be spoken by a living creature!"

Pelame couldn't believe what she just heard Sanjuro say. "Why you… cold-hearted… no-brained… extorting… thieving… BLINDER!"

"Whoa, too far, Pelame!" Kushi said.

"Shut up, Kushi! You and the rest of you Task Force cretins are the _last_ Pokémon that have the right to decide what's proper, right, wrong, or any of that!"

"Well, we still did good things!" Sanjuro defended. "Would you rather we were just outright criminals?!"

"THAT'S WHAT YOU ALREADY ARE! Yes, you did do good things, but the fact that you had such a selfish ulterior motive that ultimately drove you to this—and by the way Sanjuro, I see you wrote your name on this scuba tank, which you don't need because YOU'RE A GRENINJA! You somehow managed to steal air itself!—*ahem* it cancelled out any goodness you had in you."

"Well then, Miss 'Holier-Than-Us-All', why _else_ would anyone do good things?!"

"Simple! The mere fact that you can make such a positive difference in someone else's life, and even help them live their life." Pelame calmed down as she explained. "It's reward enough for me whenever I can help someone out at all, especially if that helpful task is Purifying a Pokémon infected with a Dark Blessing. I connect directly with a Pokémon's soul every time I Purify someone, and the feeling that they're going to be okay is all the reassurance I need. It's reward enough to me that they get to live a normal life without an evil power tempting their every move. But even if someone doesn't have that ability, or isn't even an Alpha, that doesn't mean they can't be helpful to the world. I've got friends back at TIGHS and back at home who want to do good for the world. They've helped me against the Dark Blessing whenever they could, and for no other reason than that they just wanted to help protect the world from it. They didn't need money or other goodies as rewards to tell them 'thanks again!'; the fact that they were able to help at all is reward enough for them."

"…well, good to see you're so satisfied with your little-to-no lot in life."

"Sanjuro, I can't work with you anymore, or any of you. You will give back everything you stole, and you're going to jail."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong, Pelame," Pend threatened. "With you, we've been the most successful we've ever been. You will stay with us, even if we have to force you!"

"Somehow, I'm not surprised to see you haven't actually changed, Pend," Trailblazer said, entering the room through the hole in the wall.

"Ah, my old double-crossing pal."

"The feeling's mutual." Trailblazer looked at Sanjuro. "I observed the entire conversation that just took place here. And I must say that Pelame's right on the money. I must wonder why you'd sink so low as to rescind the very act of saying 'thank you' and denounce it as a slap in the face. But then again, given my past with your pal Pend, I'm not interested. So, just come along quietly. The police are here already."

As he'd said, the police were currently seizing the stolen items and taking them back up to the ground.

"Then let them come and get us!" Sanjuro dared. He got ready to toss a Water Shuriken, only for Pelame to use her Alpha Power to create and energy rope to find his hands together. She then did the same to his feet. As the other Task Force members got ready to attack, Pelame bound them in the same way, too.

"Should've listened to my boss," she taunted.

"Once again, we thought you hated one-liners—" Kushi said before Trailblazer gagged him with a scarf from his bag.

"Be quiet," Trailblazer ordered. "You're annoying even to deaf Pokémon like me."

The police officers arrived to take the Task Force members above ground and arrest them.

"Great work, Pelame," Trailblazer complimented.

"Thanks, sir," Pelame answered back. "Say, how did you know where to find me?"

"Well, the truth is, Pend and I were once competitors to be the CEO of an international drug cartel."

"You dealt drugs before?!"

"Not at all. I never sold a one. I actually worked as a bodyguard for the former CEO, which got me his trust. So, he made me the next CEO. And then, I proceeded to sell the entire supply off to Pokémon who I knew were undercover cops, so that they'd destroy those terrible substances. The cartel ran out of material to sell, and so the cartel itself faded away. I ended up being named a national hero for doing so and was given a gratitude grant of seventy-five million Pokéns for my deed. As for the money in the cartel's filthy name, I donated _that_ to charity. And with the money I got as a reward, I founded TIGHS."

"That's amazing! So you founded TIGHS on the ruins of a drug cartel you brought down from inside!"

"Yep. And that was why I'd been suspicious of Pend ever since the festival. I thought maybe he changed for the better since his arrest, but I was wrong. He's still a greedy lowlife. Knowing him and the others, and assuming they all operated just like him, they only went along with the robbery case so they could end up pinning it on an innocent scapegoat. But I also remembered that Pend never had much in the department of foresight, and I turned out to be right in finding that he and the other Task Force guys stashed their stolen goods in the same place Pend once stored the old cartel's stock of drugs. A location he once foolishly revealed to me, by the way. I just connected the dots, got the cops here, and now they're going to jail."

"Wow. Trailblazer, you are awesome."

"Hey, let's not get too flattery-y. Let's get back to the HQ now. We've got a field trip to prepare for."


	20. On the Other Side of the Pond

Chapter 20 – On the Other Side of the Pond

* * *

The date was Seventhmonth 16th, Central Twilight Kingdom time. It was the day Hot Air was dreading. Everywhere he'd gone that day, all he could hear from the general Klingdale County populace was excited discussion about the Twilight Kingdom's version of "Riptide", which was set to premiere in thirty more minutes from the time he returned to his apartment. As he'd established an online identity as a fansite of all things "Riptide", he had no choice but to watch what he already mentally condemned as being terrible. And after the show's premiere episode ended, he instantly felt vindicated.

"Good going, Sivik-Ripney," he cried. "You just killed 'Riptide'." Unable to handle any more stress from this, he published his latest post to his site and then retired to bed early.

On the morning of the 17th, Hot Air instantly switched his computer on and logged onto his site, excited to see the inevitable backlash Sivik-Ripney received for their localization of "Riptide". To say that he was disappointed at the actual reaction he was seeing in the comments section of his post was an understatement.

_"__Trolls,"_ he thought. _"Should've known there'd be contrarians."_

Getting over it, he looked up other discussion forum sites to see what they thought, hoping that what happened on his site was just a fluke. Every message board he went to kept proving him wrong. As it turned out, the Twilight Kingdom's version of "Riptide" had gained an overwhelmingly positive response from fans. Even Pokémon from Tradja were praising the localization. Hot Air couldn't believe what he was seeing.

_"__They can't be serious!"_ he thought.

He returned to his own site and made a new post.

"To my fellow Riptide—well, I'd normally say 'fans' here, but it looks like you all don't deserve that title anymore. Honestly, to think you'd all stoop so low as to actually like Sivik-Ripney's desecration of this great show is something I can't comprehend. Seriously, you all _like_ the changes made to the show?! You like them giving Cap a pirate accent?! You like them changing all the apple cider references to alcohol?! You like them changing the background music?! If so, then there is really no hope for any of you morons. Have fun with your desecrated corpse of a great show. I will be returning along with the few remaining voices of reason in this fandom to the original show.

-Posted by Hot Air.  
Seventhmonth 17th, 1512"

Hot Air returned to his site three hours later, figuring that would be enough time for a slew of responses to come in. And once again, he was let down. But one comment in particular got his attention most of all. A user by the name of "ironlightning" commented, "Oh, so Selena and the cast and crew are all morons according to you, Mister Judge-of-what-makes-someone-a-true-fan?" There was a link to a video embedded within the comment. Hot Air clicked on it to load the video, which was of a newscast talking about the "Riptide" premiere.

_"__It's the beginning of a pop-culture phenomenon here in the Twilight Kingdom,"_ said the chansey in the video. _"Last night, Tradjan sensation 'Riptide' premiered nationwide."_ At this point in the video was a clip of the localized version of the first episode, which Hot Air skipped to move on with the newscast. _"The premiere ended up with an audience rating of 42.5% of audiences in the entire country, making it not only TKBS's highest-rated program of the week, but also the highest rating a foreign localization has ever gotten. We go live now to our live anchor Pin and Mister Haigsfeld, head of Sivik-Ripney's Localization Department."_

The newscast cut to a rufflet wearing a TKBS badge and carrying a microphone in his left wing. Standing next to him was a psyduck with a Sivik-Ripney tag on him.

_"__Thanks, Eggie," _said the rufflet named Pin. _"I'm here now with Mister Haigsfeld, who heads the Localization Department of Sivik-Ripney. Mister Haigsfeld, how do you feel that this program became an overnight sensation?"_

_"__I can't really help but feel very honored by that,"_ Haigsfeld answered. _"It's almost as if its success over in Tradja has been duplicated. I'd like to thank my staff for all their hard work and the good Pokémon of Holmeister Studios for producing such a great program."_

_"__Yes, you've made lots of Pokémon happy last night. So, when will the next episode be?"_

_"__Well, it'll be a weekly series starting the week after next. So stay tuned, everyone!"_

The newscast cut back to Eggie in the newsroom.

_"__So there you have it. And now here's freelancer Wattkins over in Tradja to get some thoughts on the original show's cast and crew."_

The newscast cut to Wattkins standing on a film set among many Pokémon.

_"__Yep, I'm here on the grounds of Holmeister Studios, where the cast and crew of 'Riptide' work. They, too, were watching the Twilight Kingdom's broadcast of the show, and here's what they all have to say about it. I have here Tux, Cutler, Signal, and Selena."_

_"__It was marvelous!"_ said the prinplup named Tux. _"It was rather neat that they gave my character a pirate accent, considerin' that it sounds close te my natural accent."_

_"__Eh, I don't think they ought to have made my character's accent so thick,"_ the lucario named Cutler added. _"It was alright. Not too special."_

_"__At first I took issue with the fact that the cider got changed to wine,"_ the rotom named Signal added. _"But then I remembered that Twilight Kingdom cider is not an alcoholic drink like it is here in Tradja. That was a brilliant move on Haigsfeld's part."_

_"__I'm really looking forward to seeing more from their localized version,"_ the shiny umbreon named Selena added. _"They sure did a fantastic job on it! I can't wait until they get to my first appearance on it!"_

_"__Well, almost all across the board, it was a success even here,"_ Wattkins summarized. _"The rest of the cast and crew are working now, but statements online from them have been generally positive. Back to you, Eggie."_

The video ended there, just as the next news story was to begin being talked about. As soon as Hot Air clicked out of it and went back to his own site and refreshed it, even more comments came in denouncing his newest post. On top of that, his pageview traffic measurement on the page went from 36,994 visitors to just 10,208. Most of the new comments heralded this, as lots of them said they'd never again visit the site. Having had enough of this, he got into the comments and responded with, "Well, you can all go ahead and go vögeln yourselves. Some fans you all are." Only within ten minutes of making that response did news of it reach lots of other message boards, some of which decreed to have preemptively banned him. It had only taken one day for him to go from being a paragon of Internet fandom individuals to being a pariah within his own fandom. He could get no lower than this. And that was when opportunity struck.

**"****Having a rough day, huh?"**

Hot Air had only once before been visited by the Dark Blessing, but that once was enough for him to recognize it when it returned.

**"****Mortals change their minds so fast. One moment, you're a deity among Pokémon for your marvelous services. But you mess up even once, and you suddenly become the arch nemesis to them all. Can you honestly be blamed for feeling the way you do? After all, a great show got ruined by your home country, and you're the only one who knows it. And then when you try to bring it to their attention, you're repaid with scorn."**

"Yeah. So?" Hot Air responded. "What's your point? You trying to sucker me into accepting you again?"

**"****Let's not phrase it so harshly. You don't want to drive away the last thing willing to listen to you, do you? I just want to be something you can come to for your troubles. And it appears Sivik-Ripney caused a lot of it for you. Am I right?"**

"Yes."

**"****You were so hopeful that Haigsfeld would listen to the right side, as you called it. But now, all those of the right side now side with Haigsfeld and Sivik-Ripney. You are now almost completely alone in your thoughts about the program, but you have no way to reach out to those who will listen to you. That's where I wish to come in. You can make it clear to everyone that they're on the wrong side. And I am willing to help you do that. All you need to do is let me."**

"What exactly are you trying to make me do?"

**"****I can't make you do anything. All I can do is help. You know how I work, don't you? I advise, and I also give you a special power. Neither are forms of control over you, so if you're worried about that kind of nonsense, don't be. Besides, you're already thinking of something drastic, right?"**

"Well, I'd love to give Haigsfeld a piece of my mind. And I'd also like to keep 'Riptide' from being destroyed even further."

**"****Then do it. Do both. I'd be happy to help."**

"Fine, you can tag along! But don't you go chattering too much to me, all right?! And let me make it clear to you right now: I am not going to let you turn me into an evil monster like how you got that crazy skuntank terrorist to burn down that city in Ordoxivia, so don't even think about trying to do that!"

**"****Understood. Then we have a deal."**

Hot Air felt a brief surge of intense pain, like his heart, mind, and soul had been simultaneously frozen solid and burned to ashes. Even though it died down easily, it was still an ordeal.

"Sheesh, do you really need to make it hurt so much?!" he demanded.

**"****That's an unavoidable side effect of me and you becoming one. Now then, what will you do?"**

"Tonight, when Sivik-Ripney closes for the night, I'm saving 'Riptide'…"

* * *

As he'd scheduled, Hot Air made the trip to the Ville Du Soleil Couchant, staying there until 11:00PM. Sivik-Ripney closed at that time, which was the time he went to make his move.

"So, how exactly will you be helping me?" Hot Air asked his Dark Blessing.

**"****Apart from your new set of powers and the advice I can give, I can give you no help here,"** the Dark Blessing answered. **"Try going through the door."**

"You know, for something that knows so much about the Mortal Realm, you sure miss the most common-sense things, such as how it's easier to get through a door that's unlocked. And this door right here is locked."

**"****Go through it."**

"How? Even if I wanted to break in—and I'd like to keep this as covert as possible so I don't go to jail—this glass is tough."

**"****Go through it."**

"All right, look." Hot Air floated up to the door and pushed against it. "See? I'm not going through!"

**"****Yes you are."**

"I'm pretty sure—" Hot Air cut himself off when he saw a small dark portal appear on the door, letting him phase through it. "Okay, what was that?! Was that one of my new abilities?!"

**"****Yes it is. Useful, right?"**

"I'll say." Hot Air then continued deeper into the building. He first located the safe where all the company's master copies of all their works were kept. Films, TV shows, commercials, all of it could be found in there. After some searching, he found what he was looking for. He picked them up one at a time and put them in a bag he'd gotten from the pantry he stopped by earlier.

**"****Don't you ever wish you had hands? It must be hard having to make your vents become vacuums to pick objects up."**

"I can manage. There, I've got all the episodes they localized." To his surprise, he was able to take the bag and masters out with him when he phased back out through the safe door. With them, he made his way to the Localization Department. He set the bag down on Haigsfeld's desk. "All right, 'Riptide'. Time to save you once and for all." He let out a puff from all the vents on his body. Instead of smoke, fire came out of all of them. After discovering this, he floated all around the Localization Department, scorching everything he possibly could.

* * *

"Whoogh," Pinna said with fatigue as he climbed up to the castle's eastern battlements. "Late night watch duty… Sure didn't miss this during my retirement…"

"Tough to get back into the swing of things, huh Pinna?" Keldeo joked.

"Oh, shut up. You know I'm just pulling your leg."

"That I do. Good to see you retained your sense of humor."

"So, see anything unusual?"

"Not really. The only out-of-the-ordinary thing that happened today was that sudden influx of Doxivish Pokémon that arrived earlier today after Mustard's attack. But that's no cause for worry."

"Yeah. I just hope Pelame will be okay. She's to be going to Ordoxivia with TIGHS next month."

"Well, how about I send you there once your transfer to the International Guard is finalized?"

"That'd be fine with me—uh, sir?" Pinna noticed something in the distance. "I see smoke." Keldeo turned around to face where Pinna was focusing on.

"I see it, too," he replied. "It looks like it's coming from the Business District." Keldeo went into the transmission room of the eastern battlements and sounded the emergency alarm. He then got onto the PA and called for his guards.

"The Fire Department's already on the way over there," Pinna said once Keldeo made his call.

"I saw them, too. We'll lend them some help." Keldeo, Pinna, the Elite Nine, and a section of the advanced guards set off to the site of the fire.

* * *

The fire department had already begun their attempt to extinguish the flames engulfing the Sivik-Ripney Office Building's Localization Department. The guards who were accompanying Keldeo went into the building to help salvage whatever of the Localization Department's resources they could.

"Remember, if it comes down to a Pokémon or an important item," Keldeo said. "Always save the Pokémon if you can't save both."

"Yes, sir!" shouted the guards as they dispersed.

Deeper within, Pinna ended up in the room Hot Air had burned the "Riptide" episodes in. There was nothing left in there to save. Once he left the room, Hot Air flew by him.

"Wait!" Pinna shouted. Hot Air obeyed. "Come with me. I'm gonna get you out of here."

"Get away from me!" Hot Air responded. "I'm not going to jail for saving 'Riptide'!"

"What do you mean 'saving 'Riptide''?" Then Pinna put two and two together. "You must be Hot Air. So you would really go this far over a TV show?!"

"Shut up!" Hot Air then phased through the wall of the burning building before Pinna could apprehend him. There was nothing remaining to do, so he left the building, finding his other fellow guards there, too.

"No luck either, huh, Pinna?" Keldeo asked.

"Not really," Pinna answered. "Everything's destroyed. And worse still, the culprit escaped right in front of me."

"Let me guess: Hot Air, right?"

"Yep."

"Well, he's officially more pathetic than I thought. First he encourages a street protest over that 'Riptide' show, then he burns down the office that localized it for this country. I presume that if Mr. Haigsfeld was here, he'd have tried to kill him. How exactly did he escape?"

"You probably won't believe this, but he phased through the wall."

"Oh, I can believe that. That means he's got a Dark Blessing. And if you encountered him, then it's possible that your Alpha Power could've been awakened. In fact, I believe that's an Alpha Sigil right there on your topmost head fin." Keldeo took a closer look. "Yep, you're definitely an Alpha."

"You too, honey?!" exclaimed Neve, arriving on the scene. She had an Alpha Sigil on the center portion of her natural tuque.

"Neve, darling! What are you doing here?" Pinna asked, surprised at both the sight of his wife appearing unexpectedly and her Alpha Sigil.

"I saw you go into the building! They showed it on the news! On my way here, a koffing flew past me, almost like he was a living rocket. He basically bowled me over, and then I ended up getting this Alpha Sigil on my head."

"It's because he's a Demon-type," Keldeo interjected. "Alpha Power awakens in a member of the Alpha Bloodline when they're encountering a Demon-type. The King informed us all about this."

"This is unbelievable…" Neve said in a worried tone. "First the Team Static Incident, then the attempted assassination of Queen Mkono, then the attack in Ordoxivia, and now this?! What's next?"

"Well, darling," Pinna answered. "I fear the answer to that as much as you do. This Dark Blessing business just keeps getting crazier and crazier."

* * *

Keldeo finished reporting to King Kangaskhan II about the earlier incident, and the two Alphas that resulted from it.

"Pocketurn's getting more and more dangerous, I swear to Arceus…" said the King. "Sultan Rajukh was just telling me that it felt like there were three Demon-types on the attack when there was really just one."

"Wait, Pokémon can mass-hoard Dark Blessings?!" Keldeo asked incredulously.

"It sounds like it to me. At any rate, this is getting out of hand. All these Pokémon misusing a dangerous power… something needs to be done. Twarkleton, I want you to get Emperor Kentahito on the phone. Shizazoto's the only other remaining safe place that has a good supply of Alphas. I heard it from Valkyrie when he returned from there."

"As you wish, sire," replied Twarkleton.

* * *

The date was now Seventhmonth 25th. Blessing received no protest from her mother about the modeling shoot she was going in for. Adorbs would have preferred her adoptive daughter take a less exploitative job, but she figured that as long as her charge was happy, so should she be. But considering the previous incident, and especially since this current shoot was happening at the same locale in Llyria County, she accompanied her daughter to the shoot.

"Please don't ask my daughter to assume positions that are _too_ provocative," Adorbs requested of the medicham receptionist.

"Mom, I'm modeling for a magazine," Blessing said. "They're not gonna ask me to do anything of the sort you're afraid of."

"Just making sure."

"You're a good mother," said the receptionist. "And don't worry. We ask for nothing more than alluring poses. The wretches next door are the ones who ask for junk that appeals to the kind of Pokémon that belong in jail. Now then, this way."

The receptionist led Blessing and Adorbs into the studio room where the photos would be shot.

"Meet Galella," said the receptionist, introducing the froslass with the camera. "She'll take it from here." The medicham left.

"So, which one of you lovely ladies is Blessing?" Galella asked.

"That's me," Blessing said. "Probably the sexiest sneasel you'll ever meet."

"Eh, I've met sexier ladies. Your mom's a better looker than you."

"WHAT?!" Blessing and Adorbs both shouted. Suddenly, a bright flash went off.

"Got it!" Galella said triumphantly. "A special bonus shot just for you! All right, then, let's get started. Blessing, can you lay down on that red rug, please?" Blessing did so. "Yes, on your back, just like that. Actually, roll over onto your side, facing your—"

"Way ahead of you," Blessing responded as she assumed the position.

"Uh, actually, I wanted the _front_ side of your body facing the camera for this shot. But I suppose I can get shots of this pose out of the way."

"Perfect. I fixed my tail feathers up just for this."

"Oh, I noticed since you came in. Usually a sneasel arranges their tail feathers vertically, but yours are horizontal, just like a pidgey's. You must _really_ be fond of that wide bottom of yours."

"You got that right! And at long last, it's become my moneymaker!"

Adorbs put a hand to her forehead. _"Urgh… To think a member of my family would use such a vulgar colloquialism…"_ she thought.

"Okay, now turn your face to the camera—or as much of it as you can show right now—and give me a smile. Closed mouth. And half-close your eyes, like you're beckoning someone to cuddle up with you."

"Like this?" Blessing asked, following Galella's instructions.

"Exactly! Perfect!" Galella then took the picture. "Got it, toots! Now, give me the same pose, but with the front of your body facing the camera." Blessing rolled over and assumed a similar position to what she had before. "Yep! Stay there!" Galella took the picture. "Ooh, you're a _natural_ at this! Every guy in Llyria's gonna want to court you!"

"Too bad I'd have to turn them all down, though."

"Oh, so you're a _ladies'_ lady, eh? Just like me. But no offense, but you're not exactly my type."

"Same to you. I'm not sure what my type is, to be honest."

"Well, you'll find someone. By the way, a regular sitting one will do for this one. Just like that." Galella took the picture. "Okay, one more left. Stand up please." Blessing stood up. "Now turn around, but not all the way. Face three-fourths away from me and bend over slightly. Just enough for your hands to touch your knees. And face the camera with a wide-eyed smile." Blessing followed the photographer's instructions. "And finally, stand on tiptoe. Yes! Exactly like that! Perfect!" Galella took the final picture. "And now we're done! You'll get an advance copy of the issue we'll be using these photos in should we decide to use them. Thank you very much for your time!"

"My pleasure, Miss Galella! This was fun to do!" Blessing shook the froslass's hand. "I can't wait to see the issue when it comes out!"

"Good to hear. You know, maybe you could get your gorgeous mother to pose with you if you decide to model again."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Adorbs said assertively.

"Well, at any rate, thanks again."

"No problem. Have a nice day!" Blessing said.

Blessing and her mother bid the photographer goodbye and got into the car to go back home.

"Hey, mom," Blessing said. "Why is it you don't like modeling? I think you'd be great at it."

"So did lots of Pokémon," Adorbs answered. "Blessing, you're a very lucky lady not to have grown up in the world I grew up in."

"How so?"

"Well, many reasons, actually. But one particular one directly has to do with our topic at hand. You see, I first evolved into a lopunny about twenty-five years ago, and back then, not much was expected of female Pokémon. Sure, they could get good jobs, but opportunities weren't quite as equal back then, and just about no one expected a lady to get too far in life."

"The dumb 'stay in the kitchen' mentality, eh?"

"Yep. But for Pokémon with figures like mine that are seen as 'attractive'—"

"Although you _are_, mom."

"Thanks, Blessing. But anyway, for Pokémon with these kinds of figures, even less was expected of them. All society expected of them was modeling, or any other job that focuses on the body. Because that's what society saw them as, saw _me_ as. As soon as I evolved, I went from being a young lady with few although substantial opportunities to just a walking—and please pardon my use of this term—sexy body."

"Well, that's stupid! They really didn't think you'd become such a great psychologist?!"

"Nope. All anyone thought I'd be, and all anyone _wanted_ me to be, was just an attractive body."

"Gosh. You must think I'm the biggest disgrace ever, then."

"Oh, not at all! Although I don't approve of such a shallow profession, I know it's a passion of yours. Not your _true_ passion, but a passion nonetheless. And even if it _was_ your true passion, I'd think no less of you for it. Thing is, before anything else, you are my daughter. That's why I can look past my disdain for modeling to support you. Besides, as you know, I hate manipulative and overly restrictive parenting so much more than I hate body exploitation."

"That… really means a lot to me to hear that from you, mom. I never did want to go further than modeling when it came to use of my marvelous body."

"That's very reassuring, Blessing. Anyway, if you want to continue modeling for the time being, you go right ahead."

"Thanks, mom." Blessing smiled at Adorbs and gave her a hug as they pulled in to their house's garage.

* * *

The big day had finally arrived. Seventhmonth 28th, as he'd promised, was the day Pugno would arrive for a re-assessment to become a Royal Guard. He had spent his entire time with Master Lee preparing for such a day.

"I'll be rooting for you, Pugno," Lee said as he started his car to take Pugno to the castle.

"Thanks, my Master," Pugno responded courteously. "I'm sure I'll do great because of all your help."

They arrived after a drive of twelve minutes. At the gate was Benedict.

"Greetings, Lee," he said. "What business brings you here?"

"Just dropping off my protégé," Lee answered. "He's applying to be a Royal Guard."

"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot about that. Come on in. The Captain's on his way to the training ground."

"Well, Pugno, good luck—"

"Can Lee come in with me?" Pugno asked Benedict.

"If he wants to, sure," Benedict replied.

"Really, Pugno? You want me to spectate?"

"Of course! You deserve to see how much your teachings have paid off!"

"Well, I guess I can't turn down a reason like that. Okay, I'll go with you." Lee then parked the car and both Pokémon entered the castle grounds.

"Right on time, Pugno," Keldeo said once they reached the training ground. "Oh, and I see you're also an Alpha."

"Indeed I am, Captain," Pugno replied. "Believe it or not, it came from a fight with my own Master Lee. And by the way, please don't arrest him; he's not evil."

"I should say so. I closely observe this city and this country, and I've heard nothing about Lee doing anything bad. If only more Demon-types were as good as him… You know, this gives me an idea. Value!"

"Yes, sir?" asked the furfrou with the Diamond Trim.

"Send for Pinna. I've got a theory to test."

"Yes, sir!" Value went off to her errand.

"In the meantime, let's see if you've gained the worthiness to be a Royal Guard. I hope you won't let me down, Pugno."

"Okay, Captain," Pugno answered with determination. "Watch this."

Pugno then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He assumed the Crane Stance as his routine started with, and started generating a small Aura Sphere with his left hand. He kicked with his bent right leg, put it back on the ground, and did a Low Sweep attack with his left foot. He finished by releasing the Aura Sphere from his left hand and delivering a Power-Up Punch with his fisted right hand.

"Ooh, a familiar routine," Keldeo said, amused. "And it sure was more conservative than last time. Well, I'm considering letting you into the Royal Guard, but first, I want to make sure that wasn't a fluke."

"Shall I do it again, or maybe another routine? I've got more."

"Nope. I've got a better idea, actually. Pugno, I will test you myself. You and me."

"A fight? You sure about this?"

"Absolutely sure. There's just about no better way, is there?"

"I suppose not. But don't think I'll take it easy on you, even though you're my childhood hero."

"That's a good policy. Always give it your best. Oh, and please don't aim for the part of my body that I use to sit. My tail just finished growing back after Mustard burned it."

"No promises, sir. If an attack hits you, it hits you, no matter where."

"That it does. I was just messing around. Now then, have at you!"

Keldeo stood up on his hind legs and fired an Icy Wind at the ground in front of Pugno. Pugno jumped over the attack and tossed an Aura Sphere at the Captain. Keldeo deflected it with a swing of his Sacred Sword attack, knocking it back at Pugno. Reacting to this quickly, Pugno knocked it back as well, scoring a direct hit on the Captain's big nose. Taking this chance, Pugno ran toward the Captain, jumped onto his back, and flipped him onto the ground. Keldeo retaliated by shooting out a Hydro Pump from his back right hoof, which happened to be pointing at Pugno's direction. After that, he hit Pugno with his Aqua Tail attack and then finished with Close Combat. Pugno lost a lot of his energy from that attack, but he wasn't backing down. A quick use of Counter while the Captain was still near him dealt some serious damage to the Captain, as did the Reversal that followed. As soon as both attacks landed, Pugno could swear that he suddenly got taller once he stood up. He was able to look Keldeo straight in the eye from his apparent new height.

"Pugno, you're a lucario now!" Lee called from the sidelines. "You evolved!"

"He's right, Pugno!" Keldeo added. "Check yourself out!"

"I will after we're done here," Pugno answered. His voice sounded no different from before, which mildly surprised him. Noticing that the Captain was still struggling to stand, Pugno ran toward him once again. He landed a move on the Captain which turned out to be a Close Combat attack of his own. But at that same moment, Keldeo unleashed a Hyper Beam from his mouth, blasting Pugno point-blank just after the earlier Close Combat hit. When the dust cleared, both combatants were on their knees, unable to stand.

"Well, it looks like a draw to me," Pinna said, arriving just as the battle finished.

"Yep, I'd say so," Keldeo agreed. "Well, Pugno, you've certainly improved since your last attempt. You're a guard now."

"Thank you, sir," Pugno said with elation. "I'll give it my best."

"I'll expect nothing less from you, Pugno." Keldeo then turned to Pinna. "That blaziken over there is a Demon-type who has been resisting the Dark Blessing's tricks for a long time, and he wants to be Purified. Go see if you have the ability to do so."

"Yes, Captain," Pinna answered. "Oh, and welcome to the Royal Guard, Pugno." Pinna went over to Lee and put his newly-awakened Alpha Power to the test. In doing so, he found the small trace of the Dark Blessing residing in Lee's spirit. As Lee had already been resisting it, it was too weak to put up much of a fight. Pinna easily banished it. "There you go, Lee."

Lee got down onto his knees and gave Pinna a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Mister Pinna! You saved my life!"

"No problem."

"Now then, Pugno," said Keldeo as he finally got to his feet. "You'll be starting off as a trainee. I'll be assigning you along with Benedict, the trainee who got into the Royal Guard before you. Tomorrow, the real work will begin. So, rest up and be here by 7:00 tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir!" Pugno responded.

* * *

On Eighthmonth 3rd…

**"****And here I thought you wanted to settle a score with Hot Air."**

Poisonpore was hunkered down in a small alleyway in Klingdale County.

**"****But instead, you let him get away. And in the course of eleven days, you've made no effort to chase him. Have you lost your motivation?"**

"Not at all," Poisonpore responded in his mind. "I just wanted to make sure I'd be strong enough to beat him in one attack. I won't lose to him."

**"****Hmph. Passing up many chances to face him is much the same thing. But suit yourself. At least I have another successful friend over in Ordoxivia."**

* * *

"(Ahh… that was just what I needed)," said Mustard. To the ears of a civilized Pokémon, his words would've sounded like fragments of his species name. "(Thanks for sharing a pleasurable time with me.)"

"(No problem)," replied the wild female skuntank he was speaking to. "(See you later!)"

Mustard left the forest area he was in and started on his way to the capital of Ordoxivia.

**"****Finally done with that dirty little distraction?"**

"She was no distraction!" Mustard retorted. "She and other wild ones will soon gain a new world thanks to me. I just needed to calm down after everything I've done so far."

**"****Well, if you're calm now, then you wouldn't mind getting started on your next big operation?"**

"Not at all. Although I may need to make myself stronger. Three of you won't be enough for me to do what I plan to do next."

**"****Very well, then. But just remember that every moment you spend in preparation is another moment civilization is allowed to keep going on. Don't be like another friend of mine who let his chance slip away."**

"Don't worry about that. Eventually, I will act."


	21. Mujizoto Tower

Chapter 21 – Mujizoto Tower

* * *

Pelame awakened with a start. She could feel the Dark Blessing's desperation even in her sleep, and it was having an effect on it. Upon her sudden awakening, she was momentarily disoriented by her surroundings before remembering that the trip to Suzaku City was to be done by the overnight train she and TIGHS were currently on. Suzaku City was located very far south on Shizazoto's landmass, making for a train trip that would last fifteen hours, five of which passed by now. The itinerary put their arrival at 11:00AM. As there were ten hours remaining, and it was an early-morning hour before anyone could be expected to be awake, Pelame went back to sleep. Fortunately for her, this attempt was much more successful. Seven hours later, it was time to get up.

"Goooood morning, Researchers!" Trailblazer greeted in his most excited tone yet. "In another three hours, we're going to arrive in Suzaku City! Who can tell me why that's so exciting, as if we didn't already know?"

"It's the city Mujizoto Tower is located in!" Pelame and Mori said in unison. Pelame quickly turned and glared at Mori, saying, "_I_ said it first."

"Yep, that's right. And in fact, if you'll all look out the window, you can see it from here. See?" Everyone, Researcher and staff alike, took a look out the train's windows. As Trailblazer noted, the tower was visible. "As it is the world's tallest Pokémon-made structure, that's to be expected. By the way, can anyone tell me exactly how high the tower is? How about you, Harry?"

"1.852 kilometers, sir!" Harry answered. "And that's without the 70 meters of the plateau it's built on."

"Good answer, Harry. And Jean, can you tell me what the tower's reinforced with?"

"Oh, that's easy. It's reinforced with glass made out of Sacred Ash. It's only the toughest glass in the world."

"That, it is, as Solothurn demonstrated last night."

_"__Urgh… don't remind me…"_ Harry grumbled in his thoughts. _"Magnum shots and small rooms do _not_ mix well with my huge ears."_

"Basically, nothing short of lava or an impossibly powerful weapon or move can break Sacred Ash glass. Why, even one of Shizazoto's famous bullet trains would make like a soda can against a trash compactor against it. One last question: what was the tower built for? This one's for Mori."

"WHAT?!" Pelame demanded.

"You heard him," Mori chided. He then looked at Trailblazer and gave his answer. "Mujizoto Tower was built by Emperor Mienshao VI, the last member of the Mienshao Dynasty before the Hito Dynasty took over. He built it as a gift to Mujizoto, the Guardian of Shizazoto's skies. And he made it a tradition that the new ruler would have to climb the tower to receive Mujizoto's sacred blessing. That's the one and only Mienshao Dynasty tradition that the Hito Dynasty observes, by the way. Not to mention that since the tower has 306 floors, lots of Hito Dynasty members used that as bragging rights."

"Well, well, not a single wrong answer from anyone I've asked questions of today!" Trailblazer complimented. "I'm so proud of you guys. So then, it's time for breakfast, and in barely less than three hours, we'll be at Suzaku City!"

Rooter entered with a giant cart-full of food for the TIGHS Researchers and staff. Everyone took what their culinary preference was and ate their fill of it. By this point, there were 160 minutes left until the train was to arrive at its destination. To take up the remaining time, everyone got to various recreational time-wasters. Harry got out his laptop computer to load up the newest "Riptide" episode he'd missed. Pelame took the seat next to him and noticed what he was going to watch.

"Oh, my friend Torden told me about this show," Pelame said. "I've been meaning to check it out."

"You've never seen it before?" Harry asked, stunned.

"Nope."

"Well then, let's watch together from the beginning. You're kinda _way_ behind on it if you've never seen it." Harry input a search request into Twang for the first episode. "Oh? The Twilight Kingdom has their own version of it?" Pelame and Harry watched the localized first episode. By the end, neither were particularly impressed. "Huh… that was… odd…"

"_This_ was worth Hot Air burning Sivik-Ripney over?!" Pelame said with incredulity and anger.

"Yeah, the original is better, but this was still good enough—" Harry quickly turned to Pelame after comprehending what she said. "Wait, did you just say Sivik-Ripney got _burned down_ because of this?"

"Well, just the Localization Department. But yes, a crazy fan burned it down, probably taking other localized episodes and other parts of Sivik-Ripney with it. And for what? I mean, I hated it as much as everyone else did when 'Squirtle Squad' went from being an action show to a sitcom, but I'd never burn Paragate Studios down over it. Besides, 'Riptide' doesn't even look like it's that good a show—no offense, Harry."

"None taken. But that's nuts! Committing arson over a TV show? Did that Hot Air guy have a Dark Blessing?"

"Actually, yes he did. But that's still no excuse!"

"Unbelievable…"

"Really, just _how_ much better is the original, anyway?"

"Well, I can show you."

"Okay. Queue it up."

Harry did, they watched, and Pelame still wasn't too impressed.

"Seems like just a usual generic pirate story, to be honest," Pelame said. "And that goes for both versions. Sorry, Harry, but I really don't see the appeal."

"It's all good, Pelame," Harry responded. "Just know that when we get to Tradja, it's gonna be everywhere. The whole nation's absolutely obsessed with it. And you'll unfortunately meet some fans less tolerant than myself about those not liking the show."

"Yeah, Torden warned me about Internet fandoms."

"And he's not wrong to. I mean, if something like a foreign localization can cause someone to set fire to the localization office in question, that really says something terrible about the rest of us in general. Now, I don't know how ugly it gets online since I don't like visiting online forums, but I just hope it doesn't get any crazier in the real world than arson"

"Me too, Harry. Especially because that'd be a gigantic chance the Dark Blessing would certainly jump at."

"Yeah…"

* * *

The train followed the itinerary to the numeral, arriving at 11:00AM at Suzaku City. Upon disembarking from the train, it was a bit of a surprise to see that the city was rather small.

"It ought to be called 'Suzaku _Town_'" Komed quipped, offering the first spoken thought about the situation.

"Yeah, it should," Mori agreed. "This used to be the capital of Shizazoto before Yuxiujing was named the new capital by the Mienshao Dynasty. And then, as we all know, Daoyin was made the new capital once the Hito Dynasty took over."

"So why point that part out, then, huh?" prodded Pelame.

Mori chose not to respond.

"Okay, everyone!" Trailblazer said to the group. "So, just in case you're all wondering why Suzaku City is so small it really should be called a town, that's because this was Shizazoto's very first capital. Once Yuxiujing became the new capital, this town basically lost its… shall we say… spirit, and it basically wasted away. And matters weren't helped when various members of the Hito Dynasty literally moved their favorite buildings and structures onto the property of the Royal Palace in Daoyin. If any of you ever at any point heard Zotoan populace complain about how crazy Kentahito's ancestors were, rest assured that they're 100% right. In fact, I really wouldn't be shocked if anyone though Mujizoto Tower would've been the next to be moved. Oh, and speaking of which…" Trailblazer pointed at the tower, the roof of which was casting a large shadow over the town. "Yep, they had to build it far enough away so that there wouldn't be an unnecessarily huge shadow over the city. All kinds of problems were averted by the genius decision. Downside is, it's gonna be about a two-hour hike from here, so let's pick up some provisions from the station while we're still here. They accommodate for travelers."

* * *

In the early morning hours (as was the time in the Twilight Kingdom at the moment), Keldeo, Pinna, and a gliscor were meeting in one of the watchtowers of the castle's battlements.

"Valkyrie," Keldeo said, addressing the gliscor. "I'm certain you remember Lieutenant Pinna."

"Been trying not to forget him," Valkyrie answered. "Good thing that's not easy to do."

"Good. Because he'll be part of the International Guard alongside you. He's going to be accompanying you to Ordoxivia."

"It'll be like old times…"

"Just keep the war stories to a minimum this time, okay?" Pinna requested.

"No promises of that. They're so much fun to tell that I can't help it!"

"Well, anyway, best of luck to both of you. You're shipping out in ten minutes," Keldeo stated.

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

"Take a look at this thing…" Trailblazer said once TIGHS had finally reached Mujizoto Tower. It certainly was a spectacle. Its first hundred floors were built like a pagoda, with eaves on each of them. The eaves stopped after floor 100. After that point, the rest of the tower was all wood and metal. Its top floor was the only other floor besides the initial hundred that had its own set of eaves. After that was the roof. The tower was colored blue for the first twenty floors, white for the next thirty, gold for the thirty after that, green for the twenty after that, red for the one hundred sixty after that, green for the ten after that, red for the thirty after that, and gold for the remaining six including the roof.

"Isn't it just breathtaking?" Trailblazer asked. "One of the Wonders of Pocketurn, and we're about to explore it. I've dreamed of the day I'd be able to see inside this tower for myself…" Trailblazer then cleared his throat and turned to the others. "Okay, before we go in, let me tell you a few things. First of all, as it is _very_ notoriously hard to get official permission from the Zotoan Empire—who has to get it from Mujizoto himself, by the way—this is a very special occasion to be able to see inside the tower at all. As with all Pokémon not related to the Empire's Royal Family, we are only allowed to go as far as the 100th floor. Any attempt to try to go past that won't even be possible, as the way forward from that point is only known by the Royal Family, and likely can only be activated by a Royal Family member. Also, as this is one of _the_ most revered places in Shizazoto, let alone all of Pocketurn, please treat this place as such. Are we all clear?"

"Yes, sir!" shouted the Researchers and staff.

"Good. Now, just one more question: what is the name of Mujizoto's species?"

"Ho-oh!" Pelame answered as quickly as she could. "The tower's color scheme even matches his own, from the talons up to his crest feathers."

"Well said, Pelame. Okay then, let's research!" Trailblazer opened the gate to the tower's front lawn, where the two golem guards let them in upon checking their TIGHS IDs.

As beautiful as the tower was on the outside, the inside was even more amazing. From inside, it was possible to see the Sacred Ash glass reinforcing the structure.

"By the way, here's what's been keeping this tower standing for so long," Trailblazer noted. "This goes up for 200 of this tower's 306 floors, and it's all it needs to survive all kinds of disasters. Sorry to spring another pop quiz on all of you, but who can tell me exactly how Sacred Ash and Sacred Ash glass is made?"

"Sacred Ash is made from—" Mori began before Pelame suddenly covered his mouth with both her paws.

"It's made from Mujizoto himself when he dies," Pelame finished. "But he's special in that—"

"His death is not permanent," Mori continued, having pried Pelame's paws off of his mouth. "As long as his death can leave a body behind, he'll turn it to ashes upon a death, and—"

"He doesn't need all of his own ashes in order to reincarnate. The leftovers are what other Pokémon can use for all kinds of purposes: medicine—"

"—glass, a blessing to the Royal Family—"

"—peace offerings—Mori, just shut up and let me answer this one!"

"Find it funny that 'peace offering' was the last thing she said before that outburst?" Kasumi whispered to Redfoot, who nodded.

"Yeah, she sure could use some Sacred Ash in that case," Redfoot whispered back.

"Well, you're both right," Trailblazer commended. "Though only one of you needed to answer. Anyway, let's get to researching for real." As soon as everyone dispersed, Trailblazer approached Pelame and Morikain. "Okay, you two," he began. "I know you're rivals, but if there's any place where you'd do good to put your rivalry aside and focus on the job at hand, this would be it. May you two please do that for me?"

"I'll try to—" Pelame began.

"No, I don't want you to just 'try to'; I want you to actually do it."

"All right," Pelame and Mori answered.

"Thank you very much. Besides, there's really nothing in here to fight about, anyway. Just take in all the sights this tower has to offer." With that, Trailblazer went to conduct research of his own.

"Okay, Mori," Pelame said. "Trailblazer's counting on us to behave. So don't you mess this up."

"And don't you do the same," Mori responded.

"It's a deal, then." Pelame and Mori reluctantly shook on it. After that, they went with separate groups to go further into the tower to conduct research.

* * *

Pelame decided to go with Kasumi and Komed to the third floor of the tower. In there, they found nothing other than Old Zotoan text spelling out Mujizoto's name carved into the wooden pillars on the walls. The first truly interesting find was on the tenth floor.

"Is this…" Kasumi began, blown away by the beauty of what she saw in the glass case on the central pillar.

"Yep, that's Mujizoto's Rainbow Wing," Pelame answered. "Oh, if only photos were allowed inside the tower like they are outside…"

"So, what exactly is this thing's purpose?" Komed asked. "I mean, it looks more like a feather than an entire wing."

"See the inscription there?" Pelame asked, pointing at the plaque. "It's written in both of the Old Zotoan languages, which are often incorrectly called dialects."

The plaque's first line read, "ゾトウ人の帝国は、ども有り難う。わしはにじいろのはねを授けよ。" Its second line read, "ゾトウ帝國、謝謝。我賜予你我的彩虹羽毛的感激之情。"

"That second line probably has a mistake in it somewhere, but I'm not sure where," Pelame noted. "The scribe who wrote that one probably wasn't well-versed in Western Old Zotoan."

The third line read, "My deepest thanks to the Zotoan Empire. In gratitude, I bestow this Rainbow Wing."

"That last line appears to be Emperor Kentahito's handwriting," Pelame said. "After all, I think he was the first of Shizazoto's rulers to visit the tower after Pocketurn switched to just one language."

"That's very interesting," Kasumi responded

* * *

Mori had gone with Harry and Seedling up to the twelfth floor, which was where they made a very interesting find. Inscribed on this floor's section of the central pillar was a mural of a mienshao receiving a blessing from Mujizoto.

"That must be Emperor Mienshao VI," Harry noted. "First to receive Mujizoto's blessing. Makes sense."

"Heh, I almost mistook him for Kentahito," Seedling confessed shyly.

"Me, too," Mori added. "But Kentahito is just a little bit taller than Mienshao VI was."

"Yeah…"

* * *

Further up, Pelame and her group had reached floor seventeen. Inscribed on that floor's section of the central pillar was something that immediately got Pelame's attention. It appeared to be an astrolabe.

"Whew… for a minute there, I thought someone inscribed that insignia I saw in that nightmare I had when I touched the Mortite," Pelame said with relief.

"Uh, _no_, Pelame," Kasumi corrected. "_This_ is the Emblem of Existence. Everyone knows that!"

"I know it's the Emblem of Existence. I'm just saying that at first—"

"I know, Pelame. It's fine."

The group took a look at the Emblem of Existence. The topmost node on its astrolabe-like setup depicted Arceus. There were two lines of six nodes in the middle of the Emblem: one line had six Pokémon on it that couldn't be made out due to the wear and tear, and the lower line depicted Pocketurn's World Leaders. The node on the very bottom depicted a mew.

"The Emblem of Existence, huh?" Mori said, arriving on the current floor. "This looks like one of the oldest ones in the world. You can't even see these in photos."

"Nope, only up close," Kasumi agreed. "Know what it means?"

"I do!" Pelame piped up. "Arceus is the creator of all things and the representative of Immortal life, which is why he's up at the top of this Emblem. These twelve in the middle are the Bearers of the Planes' Boundaries, six for the Immortal Realm and six for the Mortal Realm, and Mew represents all mortal life."

"Thanks, Pelame, but I was asking Mori."

"Besides which, you got one very important thing wrong," Mori said. "This Emblem—" He placed his hand on it and turned it. "—has no actual direction to it, so as not to imply any superiority or inferiority. In fact, it usually is set up like this." Mori turned it until the nodes depicting Arceus and Mew were on the left and the right respectively.

"Yeah, thanks, _professor_," Pelame snapped. She continued up into the eighteenth floor. There, a gigantic vat was situated in the corner of the room.

"Whoa, that's huge," Komed said once the others caught up. "Please tell me there's the world's biggest cookies in there."

"No, Komed, why would there be—"

"Sheesh, Pelame, I'm just kidding around! But seriously though, know what's in there?"

"That's easy," Mori answered. "There's a huge reserve—"

"Mori, she was asking me, so shut up and let me answer!"

"Well, actually, I was asking anyone…"

"This always happens! You keep getting in my way!"

At long last, Mori had taken all he could from Pelame. "All right, Pelame. What's your big problem with me?!"

"I just told you one of them: you keep getting in my way. You keep acting like you're the greatest Pokémon to grace the field of historical study—"

"When have I ever—"

"And you ju… j… you annoy me to no end! There! I SAID IT!"

"Well, same to you, you stuck-up brat! Ever since you joined TIGHS, you've turned every research run into a contest to see how much better you could do than me. It's like you stopped caring about Pocketurn's history and just started trying to be better than me! Not that I'm saying you are nor am I saying you aren't, because it really doesn't matter to me which one of us is better."

"Yeah, because even you know deep down that it's me!"

"There you go again! For the love of Arceus, it's like—"

"And a million pardons for that, plus all the craziness that's been going on in my life lately!"

"Well, that's still no reason to take it all out on me! What have I _ever_ done to you to deserve this?!"

"Sheesh, have I been stuttering this whole time?!"

While the argument was going on, Komed silently left the room to go fetch Trailblazer.

"You are the most annoying and pretentious Pokémon I've ever met, Morikain!" Pelame finished. "So stop bothering me!"

"Funny; those words describe _you_ a lot better, Pelame," Mori added. "The Alpha Bloodline really ought to be ashamed of you."

Pelame stood there, glaring at Mori. "…take that back…"

"Why should I?"

"TAKE THAT BACK!"

"Never!"

For a moment, Pelame had no response other than to continue to stare at (and glare at) Mori. Her facial expression was intensifying until she suddenly lashed out with a Quick Attack that sent Mori back-first into the room's central pillar. Before he could get up, Pelame struck him with her Iron Tail attack. At that point, all bets were off.

"All right then!" he challenged. "You want a piece of me?!"

He tossed an Energy Ball attack at Pelame, striking her where her Alpha Sigil was located. She dodged another one and retaliated with a Swift attack, which Mori powered through despite being hit. The two physically collided.

"That's enough, you two!" Kasumi ordered, attempting to mediate.

Pelame and Mori were rolling along the ground exchanging fisticuffs (with Pelame being a quadrupedal Pokémon, it could barely be called fisticuffs in her case) with one another. Mori tossed Pelame off of himself and hit her rear end with an Energy Ball. He then rushed her only to run straight into an Alpha Barrier. Once he was knocked over, Pelame landed a Swift attack on his rear end. The two got back to their fisticuffs once they tackled each other once more.

"I said 'THAT'S ENOUGH!'" Kasumi cried, letting out a Hydro Pump at Pelame and Mori. The two brawling Pokémon ended up rolling out of the way, causing Kasumi's attack to hit the giant vat. It wobbled loose from its bindings and broke upon hitting the ground, spilling out lots of Sacred Ash. The residual water from Kasumi's attack got the ash wet. Upon all this, everyone stopped what they were doing. Trailblazer had arrived just as the vat fell, and that was enough for him to tell what was going on. And he was very livid.

"They started it!" Kasumi defended, pointing at Pelame and Mori.

Trailblazer didn't respond. He went forward, picked up Pelame, Mori, and Kasumi, and headed down the tower with them. When he came across Winifred on the ninth floor, he briefly stopped.

"Continue the research trip without me," he ordered. "I need to have a word with these three."

"Yes… sir," she responded, confused. She thought better of inquiring why, considering the look she saw her boss having on his face.

* * *

TIGHS had a small HQ in Suzaku City, which Trailblazer brought Pelame, Mori, and Kasumi to. He brought them to his office and seated them down before taking his own seat. He was still very angry. None of the three Researchers felt comfortable in this scenario, which was why they elected to remain silent, if only out of fear. Finally, the silence was broken.

"To be blunt, I am absolutely appalled at your behavior today," he began. The three Researchers could practically feel their boss's wrath despite him not raising his voice. His tranquil anger was terrifying to say the least. "Here I thought visiting one of the Wonders of Pocketurn would be our greatest Research Trip yet, but then _this_ happens. You two break out into a brawl, and you ruining about thirty years' worth of perfectly good Sacred Ash in a misguided attempt to stop them."

"It was just an accident—" Kasumi stammered.

"Do not. Speak over me. Kasumi, your fellow Researcher Komed came to inform me of what was going on between Pelame and Mori. You should have just let me handle it. But since you took action, you broke a vat that contained enough Sacred Ash to reinforce at least three more floors of the tower. Do you have any idea how serious this is?"

Kasumi didn't dare answer.

"That vat was the only one that could contain Sacred Ash without contaminating it, which would render it unsuitable for use for any purpose. Now another one will have to be made, and Mujizoto will have to spend another who-knows-how-many-years refilling it, since the water from your Hydro Pump utterly ruined it all. _That_ is how serious this is!"

Kasumi stopped being able to look Trailblazer in the eye.

"When I founded TIGHS, I did so with the intention of solving Pocketurn's many historical mysteries. So when an incident like this happens, Pocketurn eternally loses a part of its history. I cannot tolerate that. You know the guild rules, right?"

Upon hearing that, Kasumi knew exactly what her punishment was going to be. "But it was just an accident! If these two morons hadn't been—"

"I don't care if it was an accident. The point is, you destroyed a historical artifact, which directly violates _the_ most important of the guild's rules. History is to be studied, not destroyed. So, for that, I have no choice, Kasumi. Your employment with TIGHS is hereby terminated."

"…yes, sir…" Kasumi said sadly. She took out her TIGHS ID Card and gave it to Trailblazer.

"I thank you for the good work you've done before today. This will get you home." Trailblazer gave Kasumi a voucher for a plane ticket home. She took it and left without saying a word. Pelame and Mori knew it was their turn next.

"As for you two, well, I can't help but feel aghast at you two as well," he began. "The two of you broke the deal you made with me. I told you to mind yourselves around each other, only for this to happen. Well, I hope you now see just how harmful your rivalry gets when it spirals out of control like this. If it weren't for you two, Kasumi would still be working with us. But as the circumstances were, neither of you destroyed anything, so I'm not firing either of you."

Pelame and Mori were relieved despite knowing that there would be a caveat to this.

"However, I'm certainly not letting you off the hook. You two acted very reprehensibly today. So, for the rest of the time we will be spending here in Shizazoto, you will both be on probation. During this time, you will both be required to return to this HQ from Research Trips at no later than 5:00PM every night. Your salaries will also be cut by 40%—with an additional 10% for repeatedly ignoring my warnings, so 50% pay cut it is—, and finally, you will both be visiting Winifred every night upon your return to work your feud out, because I, along with the rest of the guild, have had it with you two constantly being at each others' throats. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir…" Pelame and Mori answered.

"Good. Now both of you, to your crew rooms. And needless to say, you will _not_ be sharing a crew room with one another. And if I find any signs that you've fought again, then you will be following Kasumi back home. Same goes if you violate curfew." Trailblazer left the building, leaving Pelame and Mori to go to their rooms. The two glared at each other as they slammed their doors shut. As Mori lie down on his bed after setting his things down, he was spoken to.

**"****Looks like Pelame's gotten you down again, huh?"**


	22. Probation Life

Chapter 22 – Probation Life

* * *

**"****And here I thought you were a credible threat to me…"**

In the morning of Eighthmonth 5th, Pelame was wide awake thanks to the only thing she hated more than Morikain.

**"****So close to losing that job of yours, all because you decided to skew your priorities. Mori's right; you truly ****_aren't_**** worth your Alpha Power."**

"Oh, shut up! You are _the_ last thing I need bothering me right now!"

**"****Hmph. Well, at least Mori was a better one to speak to."**

_"__He didn't…!"_

**"****You will probably be wishing you'd finished him off yesterday. Don't be surprised if your harsh feelings about him suddenly get vindicated. Keep an eye on him."**

Pelame was feeling very mixed about this development. She knew the Dark Blessing used charisma to manipulate Pokémon, but she couldn't help but lend it an ear in regards to Mori. Ever since the incident in Mujizoto Tower, she'd gained a new enemy. But being on probation would make it difficult to accost him. She'd have to be careful.

* * *

"So, business goes on as usual," Trailblazer said, getting ready to conclude his morning announcements. "And in nine more days, we're off to Ordoxivia! That said, let's research!"

"Yes, sir!" responded the Researchers.

"Oh, and _you two_ be back by 5:00PM tonight. Understood?" Trailblazer sternly asked of Pelame and Mori.

"Understood…" Pelame and Mori responded with shame. Mori left with the other Researchers. Harry was the only one who stayed behind, as he was the only one of the Researchers who would even look at Pelame.

"I'll partner up with Pelame, if that's okay," he offered.

"That will be fine. You'll be in charge of her, then."

"Yes, sir. Let's go, Pelame."

Harry and Pelame left the Suzaku City TIGHS HQ.

* * *

Out in the city, Pelame and Harry had time to chat.

"Look, Pelame," he began. "I may be as disappointed in you as the others, but, you know… I think they're being _way_ too harsh on you."

"Tell me about it," Pelame responded in a huff. "I mean, avoiding even _looking_ at me?! What's their problem?! I mean, I understand Redfoot considering his problem with those with higher grades than him, but _everyone_?! Is this whole guild just biased for Mori?!"

"Pelame, please don't mention him. I know how you get about him."

"I'll try not to." Pelame now knew she couldn't even count on her last remaining TIGHS friend to help her. She really was on her own.

"Thanks. And I won't mention him, either. Plus, I think the others totally forgot that you're up against a crazy evil power. I mean, okay, it's no excuse for misbehavior, but it kinda makes it easier to understand how stressed-out you are. Believe me, I'd be irritable if that kind of stuff was happening to me. By the way, how has your fight against the Dark Blessing been going?"

"Not well, considering I haven't come across any Demon-types lately. They all seem to be in other countries, and they're getting stronger. I can feel it."

"You think you're gonna be able to take on them once you meet them?"

"I hope so…"

"And are you really sure there aren't any Demon-types left in Shizazoto?"

"No. In fact, there's at least one I'm thinking recently accepted a Dark Blessing."

"Who?"

"I'm… not totally sure yet, but I'm working on it." Pelame didn't dare say who she suspected.

"Well, all I can say is 'good luck'. I think you'll be fine."

As the two Researchers reached a lonelier area of Suzaku City, they were close to their destination. Three blocks away was an abandoned palace. It looked more run-down than the castle back at Yuxiujing City.

"Shizazoto's first Imperial Palace," Pelame noted. "Kinda surprised no one from the Hito Dynasty moved it along with most of this city's buildings." Pelame suddenly felt uneasy.

"You okay there?" Harry asked, noticing.

"Yeah. Let's be careful in there. It feels like a Demon-type may be hiding in there."

"Whatever you say, Pelame."

_"__Mori, if that's you in there…"_

* * *

"…which was the first time I tasted wine mixed with a drop of formaldehyde, by the way," Valkyrie continued as he and Pinna set up a very small barracks for themselves once they arrived in Ordoxivia. "Out on the battlefield, Pokémon sure turned to desperate substitutions for alcohol to fill a glass full."

"Yeah, I remember that," Pinna responded. "I still remember when you got super-unlucky enough to have gotten a vodka mixed with Ipecac and brine. You practically made the bathroom your bedroom that day."

"Uh, like I could help that, you know? But anyway, here's hoping this Dark Blessing doesn't fight _that_ dirty."

"Well, considering our main opponent is the jerk that started the Swadfrieg War, I think we can expect some underhanded tricks."

"Wait, I thought Mustard was dead!"

"So did I. But his actions match up to the old fiend from before. Except this time, he's got the Dark Blessing on his side, so he's even more dangerous than before. He did single-handedly burn down that town we passed by, after all."

"Poor place wasn't even officially registered by the Doxivish Government yet as an official town. Mustard's sure gonna pay for that one, especially considering that some Pokémon died in that attack. If there's one thing I like about being a military Pokémon, it's being able to bring creeps like him to justice."

"You and me both, Valk."

* * *

"Stay behind me, Harry," Pelame said as bravely as she could as she and Harry entered the abandoned palace. It was a bit difficult to walk around as the palace's dilapidation had worn away most of the floor. There was more collapsed ceiling than floor at this point in time. The ground creaked no matter where they stood, and eventually, they hit a weak spot. They fell into the basement.

"Ooof!" Harry said as soon as Pelame landed on him.

"Sorry," Pelame said, getting up. She could feel a Dark Blessing nearby. She assumed a defensive pose.

"Pelame, what's wrong? Why can't I move?"

"There's a Demon-type down here. I can feel it. I'll get you loose in the meantime. What's keeping you there? Can you feel anything?"

"I feel like something's gluing me to the floor. I can't stand up."

"Looks like we got intruders who don't know about this place's secret glue storage room…"

"Glue storage?" Pelame asked. "This palace was never used to store glue at any point in its history. Shows what _you_ know…" She lit the room up with light from her Alpha Sigil. She hoped Mori would be revealed, but instead, it was a swalot. "…who are you?"

"The owner of this palace, Emperor Dokuhito!" Dokuhito introduced with confidence. "And I really don't take kindly to intruders. For that matter, neither do my servants. Come forth and assist your Emperor!"

"Yes, sire!" answered five grimer who entered the basement.

"And also, none of us appreciate you falling into our glue. You'll pay for that! Let's get them!"

The five grimer joined their leader in attacking with a giant Sludge Bomb. Pelame jumped away from it. As she landed, she freed Harry by using an Alpha Rope to pull him out of the glue. As soon as he was freed, he fired a Mud Shot, taking down the five grimer in one shot each.

"Some servants _you_ guys are… going down in one Mud Shot…" Dokuhito chastised. "I guess you win for now. See you later!" His eyes flashed, turning the room pitch-black for a few seconds. When vision came back to Pelame and Harry, they were the only ones left in the room.

"They got away…" Pelame said angrily. "His Dark Blessing's gonna get stronger unless he's Purified soon."

"I guess he didn't want to take his chances with you, Pelame," Harry guessed.

"No doubt that the Dark Blessing warned him about me. It's probably chastising him for not killing me right about now."

"Maybe. But as it is, at least we're free to research this place."

"I don't feel like it right now. Sorry, Harry, but between my probation and now running into yet _another_ Demon-type who managed to get away, I'm not feeling too good right now. You can stay and research here if you want."

"See you later, then. I hope you feel better. And Pelame?"

"Yeah?"

"You'll get Dokuhito soon enough. I'm sure of it."

"I hope you're right. Be careful, Harry. If he comes back, or if you run into any other Demon-types, run for it."

Pelame returned to the TIGHS HQ after imparting her warning.

* * *

The mail had arrived at Blessing's house back in the Twilight Kingdom. Within it was exactly what she had been waiting for: the issue of _Llyria Lookers_ she had modeled for. She was even on the front cover. When she opened the magazine, out of it fell a small note reading, "Your royalties are at the Llyria County Salary Office".

"Hey mom, look what I got!" Blessing said, showing the magazine to Adorbs.

"My goodness, they work fast," Adorbs responded.

"It came with a note saying that the money I earned has been sent to the Salary Office. Let's go get it."

"Okay, Blessing. We did need to get some shopping done, anyway, so we can make a day of it. But please don't bring that magazine with you."

"Okay, I won't."

The mother and adopted daughter left to go run their errands, beginning at the Salary Office.

"Kinda strange that Llyria County kept this place around," Blessing noted. "I thought these places basically got assimilated into the banks."

"Llyria County didn't want to lay off all the Pokémon working here," Adorbs answered. "See that grumpig over at that desk?" Adorbs looked toward the desk to the left of the line she and her daughter were currently in. Blessing looked in the same direction. "I've known him since my childhood. He has to have been working here for at least three decades."

"I guess he's the kind of diligent worker Llyria didn't want to take a job away from."

"Exactly."

It was now their turn to be seen by an employee. The Pokémon behind the desk was one neither of them thought they'd see again.

"Good morning to you, Blessing and Adorbs," said Snivy, who was now working as a teller.

"Good morning," Blessing said, bewildered. "Kinda surprised to see you out of jail and working. Does this place just overlook criminal records or what?"

"Blessing, don't be like that," Adorbs scolded.

"Sorry mom. It's just that last time I was near her, I was tied up, gagged with tape and an Aspear Scarf, and also, _I had an Everstone implanted into my butt_."

"Kinda hard to forget that, huh?" Snivy asked. "What a dark time of my life that was. Anyway, I presume you're here for the Llyria Lookers royalties?"

"Yes, we are," Adorbs answered.

"Here it is. It totals out to 2,800 Pokéns. They must've gotten some great shots of you."

"Yep, they sure did," Blessing gloated. "I got the advance issue back home. You can pick up the issue in a week, though."

"I'm aware of how it works, Blessing. Here's your earnings." Snivy handed the money to Blessing.

"Thanks, Snivy."

"By the way, how did you end up getting this job?" Adorbs asked.

"Well, only because this was the only place in Llyria County that would employ me despite my former affiliation with Team Static. Of course, I _did_ have the cleanest slate out of all my colleagues. In fact, I'm the only one of them who's currently out of jail."

"I see. You must miss the others, huh?"

"Yep."

"Well, I hope you're getting by."

"I am. Although it's kinda lonely living by myself. But I'm managing, so I'm happy. Nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you again, too. We have to get going now, though."

"See you some other time, then."

"How about tonight?" Blessing suddenly blurted out. "For dinner? My treat."

_"__What am I saying?!"_ Blessing thought to herself.

"I suppose I can do that. I get off work at 5:00 tonight. We can go to Char Brothers then."

"Perfect! See you then!" Blessing then left with her mother, not sure of what she just did.

"Blessing, that was very nice of you," Adorbs complimented.

"Yeah… I don't know what _that_ was all about, but okay then. I guess I'm going out to dinner tonight."

* * *

_"__The Holy Land… at last!"_ Hot Air enthusiastically thought to himself as he disembarked from the plane. He got his first look at Hambfurt International Airport in Hamblin, Tradja's business center. Holmeister Studios was located there, which was what influenced his decision to move there. After getting his visas and passports approved, all he had to do was find a place of residence to move to and then go through the process that would make him an official Citizen of Tradja.

He only had to look for two hours before he found a small apartment with an available room for rent. It was within a small residential neighborhood five blocks away from the heart of the city's business centers. Taking note of the landlord's number on the sign, he sought out a phone booth to make the call. As soon as he found one that could be use by a koffing such as himself, he made the call.

"Hello?" answered the landlord on the other line.

"Hello, this is someone who is interested in moving into the vacant apartment," Hot Air responded.

"Sheesh, I thought I'd _never_ get a call about that one… well, I think you've made a great choice. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. All I need to know for now is your name."

"My name is Recht."

* * *

_"__What a waste of time…"_

Pelame and Mori didn't know it as they were glaring at each other, but they both had the same thought on their minds. Winifred entered her crew room, which doubled as the Therapy Room her two patients were waiting in. She seated herself on the chair across from her bed.

"Pelame, Mori, please lie down on the bed," she requested. "On your backs, heads on the pillow." The two Researchers assumed the position requested of them. "Thanks. Now, first of all, I want to stress that while I'm disappointed in you two regarding yesterday's Mujizoto Tower incident, I'm not mad at you for it. It's much too strong an emotion to have over something like this. But I must also agree with Mister Trailblazer that your competition with each other has reached a harmful extent. We did lose a Researcher, after all. Granted, it wasn't her place to intervene in your affairs like she did, but the situation she attempted to intervene in could've been avoided altogether. Mister Trailblazer and I don't expect you two to become friends…"

_"__Good, because we won't. I will _never_ be Mori's friend!"_ Pelame thought to herself in response to Winifred's comment.

"…but we do hope that you two will at least learn to tolerate each other just enough to not cause trouble. I wish to help you with that. So why don't we begin with a little role-play game? Act out as each other. That way, we'll see how you truly see each other, which will help out a lot. And please don't hold back."

"I'll go first!" Pelame offered.

"Okay. Let's hear it."

"Gladly." Pelame then began speaking in a lower voice. "'I'm Morikain, the most annoying Pokémon to ever enter the field of historical study! I just can't stay out of the way of the _truly_ best historians, and I want to make the best discoveries before them!'" Pelame suddenly broke character. "For Arceus's sake, Mori, we wouldn't be on probation IF YOU HAD JUST STAYED OUT OF—"

"IIIIiiiiiii think that means you've concluded your roleplay of Mori," Winifred gently scolded. "Mori, your turn."

Mori began speaking in a higher voice. "'I'm Pelame. I'm a pretentious snob who thinks she's the best thing that ever happened to the field of history, because I _am_ the best thing to happen to it! And I'm _never_ letting anyone forget it!'"

"I see. So, as I understand it, Mori, you believe Pelame is stuck-up about her historical mind. And Pelame, you believe Mori is an obstacle in your studies. Am I correct?"

"Basically," Pelame and Mori both answered.

"All right then. For now, this is all I need. I will be creating some exercises for you two for the next sessions. See you then."

* * *

One week of therapy sessions did little to quell the hostility brewing between Pelame and Mori, especially considering Pelame's suspicion of Mori being a Demon-type. It was no help that she couldn't tell anyone about this, as she figured she was already on thin ice as it was. Yet another accusation thrown in Mori's direction would be laughed off at best, and reported at worst. She had no choice but to keep quiet about it, and as the days went by, that became harder and harder to do. So, after another day of researching with Harry turned up no results, the two went to a local curry restaurant for a late lunch.

"So, Pelame, how do you like working at TIGHS?" Harry asked, wanting to perk up his stressed coworker.

"*sigh* Well, other than, well, you know…" Pelame began. "It's been fun working at TIGHS. Sure, Redfoot and Kasumi always were downers, and… oh, and the Dark Blessing ruining anything it possibly can, it's been good working here. Trailblazer's a really amazing guy, the rest of the staff are all great, most of my fellow Researchers are great, and I get to help make great discoveries for Pocketurn. All things considered, things have been going great here. Out of all the Researchers, though, I've always liked you the most, Harry."

"Oh?! Why's that?"

"Well, for one thing, you're just about the last remaining friend I have here in TIGHS. But… you just… you always seemed to be the most pleasant Pokémon to be around. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah. Though I never thought that way about myself. I'm still flattered, though, so thanks."

"It's like… I don't know how to put this… it's like it's impossible to be upset around you, you know? Gosh, what am I trying to say here?"

"How should I know? But if you want to know something, I've always thought you were great to—Pelame, what are you staring at?" Harry noticed Pelame staring intently out the window. After getting no response, he decided to do the same. Soon, he found what had gotten Pelame's attention.

"I knew it all along!" Pelame said, storming out of the restaurant.

"Wait, Pelame! You haven't ordered—" Harry saw no point to continue calling after her. Taking another look out the window, he noticed something strange. He then got out of his seat and left the restaurant as well.

Out on the streets, Pelame was hot on the trail of the Pokémon she saw. At last, she caught up to him and tackled him to the ground.

"Well, well, well, Mori," she taunted. "Won't Trailblazer be _happy_ to hear about _this_! First, I'll just cleanse that Dark Blessing out of you, and—"

"Pelame, wait! Don't hurt that guy!" Harry called as he caught up to Pelame. "That's not Mori!"

"Harry, it plainly _is_ Mori! And he has a Dark Blessing—"

The treecko wriggled out from under Pelame and ran for it. Pelame was about to give chase, but Harry grabbed onto her with his ears and stopped her in her tracks.

"Let go of me, Harry! He has to be stopped!"

"That is not Mori! Didn't you see his tail? Mori's Zotoan, so his tail isn't split down the middle. But that guy's tail _is_ split down the middle!"

"Mori's just disguising himself because he knows I know he's a Demon-type. He thinks he's so smart, thinking that I wouldn't catch that, and also keeping his power hidden enough to keep me from sensing it. Well, he's not getting away with this!"

"Pelame, that's enough!" Harry was beginning to get irritated. "Aren't you in enough trouble as it is already?! Let's just go back to the HQ, okay?"

"But he's gonna get away!"

"That guy already got away, Pelame. For crying out loud, you don't even know who that treecko even is! Look, when we get back, I'll ask Mori, okay?"

"That won't do any good! He isn't going to just tell you 'why yes, Harry, I _did_ accept a Dark Blessing!' just like that."

"It's still worth a try! Being a Demon-type doesn't automatically make someone evil any more than being an Alpha-type automatically makes someone good!"

"Whatever. Just do what you want. Let's just go."

The two did so.

* * *

"What do you want from me?!" Weston demanded of Poisonpore, who had him tied to a fireproof chair.

"Nothing in particular," Poisonpore answered. "It's just that I hate Fire-types, and also, you're good practice! Now hold still!"

Poisonpore had been using the second basement of Llyria County's Salary Office as his personal training room for quite a while. It was a small room he had secretly created himself, with help from his Dark Blessing. Because of this, it more closely resembled a chamber in a tunnel. The walls, ceiling, and floor were still soil and rock. There were no windows. Air entered the room through many small holes along the walls of the room. Air could enter and leave through those holes easily, but sound had a harder time, so Poisonpore had no fear of being detected by way of being overheard. He launched a Shadow Ball at Weston's face.

"Ouch! Seriously, what the Suffering?! Why train on me?!"

"I literally just told you." He launched another Shadow Ball.

"Who are you training to fight, anyway?!"

"None of your business, Firebutt."

"Well, how does this count as training when I can't even fight back? Untie me already!"

"Why? So you can Dig your way out of here? Not a chance. I know you know that move as well as I do. It's really not so bad being my training dummy, so quit making such a big fuss about it." Poisonpore walked over to Weston and tied a Rawst Scarf over his mouth. "The best kind of training dummy is a quiet one, after all. And don't worry; I will not kill you. Training dummies are best when they're alive, because then they can scream in pain. And your screams of pain will be even better with that scarf muffling it." Poisonpore then got back to attacking.

* * *

"You don't have anything to worry about, Pelame," Harry clarified to Pelame once he left Mori's crew room. "He's not a Demon-type. He told me the Dark Blessing visited him after you and him got here from Mujizoto Tower after the incident and tried to sway him, but he stood his ground and told it to go away."

"I see," Pelame answered. "Thanks, Harry."

"No problem, Pelame. Glad I could help." Harry entered his crew room and shut the door.

_"__Mori, you may have fooled Harry, but you're not fooling me,"_ Pelame thought to herself. _"I guess I'm just going to have to deal with you myself."_

As it was past curfew by the time the next therapy session ended, Pelame would have to wait until tomorrow. And when tomorrow came, the wheels in her head were turning. After everyone dispersed to work after the morning announcements ended, Pelame approached Mori outside the HQ Building.

"What do you want?" Mori asked, sounding irritated.

"Nothing, Mori," Pelame answered, being careful with her tone of voice. "But I need your help with something."

"You're kidding, right? Ordinarily, you'd be damned if you had to so much as go to the same place as me."

"I know, all right?! And it sure isn't easy to admit right now that I need help!"

"Well, what do you need help with?"

"You see, I had heard someone in town talking about finding something strange in the mountains. They said some gangster hung out there. And I'd like to check it out."

"And that's what you need my help with?"

"Every part of me hates saying this, but yes. It's possible this gangster is a Demon-type, and a strong one at that. You've fought a Demon-type beside me once, so that's why I came to you for help. Who knows? Maybe this'll help us patch things up?"

"Probably. Well, I guess I can help you out, but only because I want to just get over this dumb rivalry already. Let's get this over with."

"Perfect. Thanks."

The two Researchers embarked for the mountains to the east of Suzaku City.

* * *

"Anything yet, Valk?" Pinna asked, bringing lunch with him up the watchtower Valkyrie built.

"One week stationed here, and still nothing to report," Valkyrie answered, taking a bit out of the Razz Berry Salad placed near him. "I hope that doesn't mean Mustard's been striking other areas and we've been missing our chances to get him…"

"No, he's still nearby. I can feel it."

"Those Alpha powers you got are like a lucario's Aura power, then?"

"Something like that. But I can only feel it from other Alphas, and from Demons. And based on what I'm feeling now, Mustard hasn't left the general vicinity of this forest."

"If that's the case, then we'll have to just keep on keeping our eyes peeled for him."

So the two got set up to do that, unaware of what was coming. Pinna began to feel something was amiss. He stood alert.

"Pinna, what is it?"

Pinna didn't answer. He took another look around. Then he issued an order. "Valk, get off the tower now!" Pinna climbed down the tower. Valkyrie followed suit, but slightly too late. Just then, a beam-like projectile whistled through the air and hit the tower, exploding on contact. The two Guards looked in the direction the attack came from and saw Mustard standing there.

"So, you _are_ alive after all, Mustard!" Valkyrie challenged.

"I really wish you fools would stop confusing me for that maniac," said the assailant.

"Oh, so you're playing the different identity gambit, huh?!" Pinna said. "Okay, I'll play, then. Is Mustard your dad, then?"

"…hmph. Yet another thing about civilized Pokémon is how skilled they are at recognizing genetic kin… Yes, the wretch you call Mustard was indeed my father, but only by virtue of him conceiving me."

"Well, offspring tend to resemble their parents."

"I am nothing like him! He stopped being my father the day he started the Swadfrieg War!"

"Oh, like what you're doing is any different!"

"Oh, it's very different. I don't have to tell you anything about it, though, other than the fact that you will not be getting in my way."

* * *

"So, where is this gangster hideout, huh?" Mori asked once he and Pelame reached the snow-covered peak of the mountain. Even in the warm climate of Suzaku City, the mountains surrounding it were cold enough to maintain snow. Although it wasn't so cold that it required any warming gear to be worn, it was still unpleasantly nippy.

"It's around here somewhere," Pelame answered, searching for the destination.

"Well, what have you heard about this gangster, anyway? Did you get a description?"

"Yes. The gangster was described as being green, about 0.5 meters tall, has a long green tail, yellow eyes…"

It then dawned on Mori.

"Why, you… Pelame, you… you stubborn…" Words were failing him.

"Ready to own up now, you petty thug?! You sure had Harry and the rest of TIGHS fooled, but not me! I know you accepted that Dark Blessing after we got back from Mujizoto Tower! Now, I'm purifying it out of you!"

Mori stood there and allowed Pelame to do it. Once she did, she ended up not finding anything.

"How…?"

"Because I'm not a Demon-type! Get it through that stubborn skull of yours!"

"…what's…"

"This is unbelievable. To think I thought you wanted my help with something, but it was just a trick because you were too stubborn to admit you were wrong about me being a Demon-type. You know, you'd make a swell Demon yourself, Pelame! You're stubborn and underhanded enough to be one!"

"He's right, you know!" said another treecko who emerged from a nearby cave. "Great job getting him up here!"

The two Researchers turned their attention to the new face.

"Remember me, Pelame?" he asked. "I'm the one you tackled to the ground earlier today! And just last week, you and that bunnelby you were with made a fool out of me in front of my former minions, causing them to desert me!"

"What are you talking about?" Pelame demanded. "You weren't even there when—" A thought then crossed her mind. "Ah, I get it. You were humiliated in front of those servants of yours, so you started over by taking on a new form and identity. Am I right?"

"I'd say so." The other treecko then turned into a zorua. He briefly turned into a swalot for clarification. Then he changed back into his normal zorua form. "At one time, Emperor Dokuhito. And now…" he changed back into a treecko. "I will soon become Morihito, Emperor of the Forest! Think you can stop me?!"

_"__Pelame must've mistaken this jerk for me,"_ Mori thought. _"No wonder she lured me up here."_

"Yes, she can!" Mori challenged. "And I'm helping her!"

"You are?!" Pelame said.

"You asked for my help in taking on a gangster, after all."

"Huh. You know, I did. Okay, let's get him!"

Pelame began by tossing an orb of Alpha energy at Morihito. Mori backed her up with a Bullet Seed attack. Both attacks hit their mark, but didn't do much damage. Morihito smacked Pelame across the face with his tail and then charged into her as if doing a Tackle attack. Mori struck out with a Pound attack of his own. He pulled his left eyelid down with his index finger while sticking his tongue out. He then turned around, arched his back, and raised his tail. He patted his own bottom to taunt the enemy.

"Right here, lowlife!" he gloated.

Morihito responded to this by launching an attack that appeared to be Bullet Seed. Instead of seeds, out of his mouth came little Mortite pellets. Pelame blocked them with an Alpha Barrier, making each of them disappear. She then tossed the entire barrier at Morihito, knocking him against the wall of the cave entrance. Pelame and Mori ran toward him to bring him down to his knees. Just as they reached him, though, he suddenly launched a Solar Beam attack. Pelame was quick to block it with another Alpha Barrier, but she brought it up too quickly for her to notice where it reflected the attack to. It hit the cliffside above the cave entrance, bringing down all the snow resting on it and burying them all in an avalanche that blocked the cave entrance.


	23. The Mystery Dungeon

Chapter 23 – The Mystery Dungeon

* * *

Pelame's upper body was poking out of the snow when the avalanche ended. She managed to wriggle herself free from the snowbank. There was now a new problem, though. She was trapped inside the mountain cave. Worse still, Mori was nowhere to be found. She couldn't care less about Morihito, though. She began searching for her rival, hoping that nothing bad had happened to him.

_"__This is all my fault,"_ she thought as she searched the snowbank. _"If I had just listened to Harry, this wouldn't have happened."_

Soon, she managed to locate something. It was dark green, and it was long. She checked it for a split down the middle. Once she found there wasn't one, therefore recognizing it as Mori's tail, she wrapped an Alpha Cord around it and pulled until he was completely out of the snowbank. He landed on top of her. He was shivering violently.

_"__Hypothermia…"_ she thought, afraid. She could tell just by feeling how cold he was. She loaded him onto her back and tied him there with the Alpha Cord she still had out.

"I'll share my body heat with you for now, Mori," she said. "I'll look for something to start a campfire with. There's gotta be something in here I can use for that. Just hold on."

She ventured into the cave, keeping on the lookout for anything she could use to make a fire. Her fur coat and generally warmer core temperature weren't going to be enough to save Mori, who was still shivering and even seemed to be confused. Such were signs of his fallen temperature.

_"__Whatever you do, Morikain, _do not die on me._ I'll save you somehow."_

As she went further into the cave and found nothing, she became more and more afraid. It wasn't just that she feared for Mori's life or her own. She also feared that if she and Mori somehow escaped, it would be at a time after the curfew Trailblazer placed them on as part of their probation, meaning they'd be fired.

_"__What have I done?! I've just as good as killed us both!"_

Pelame could swear the cave was getting warmer as she got deeper in. Not to mention wetter. She looked down and saw water. It felt warm to touch, but it wasn't deep enough to soak in. She guessed it was a hot spring. It got deeper the further down the corridor she went. Once it got up to her knees, she decided it was a good spot to set Mori down to warm him up. She dispelled the Alpha Cord keeping him on her back and set him down into the warm water as delicately as she could.

"I hope this helps…" Pelame said to her rival as she formed a tear. "I'm so sorry, Mori… I promise I'll get you out of here alive."

Pelame never left Mori's side as the warm water warmed him up. It took about ten minutes for him to warm up to normal core temperature, and therefore, to come to.

"Unnnhhhhh… Wh…what ha… happened?" Mori said deliriously.

"Morikain, thank Arceus in Paradise you're okay!" Pelame cried in joy, nearly sobbing. She never thought she'd be so happy near him.

"Pelame? What happened…? Weren't we fighting someone…?"

"Yes, we were. But his Solarbeam rebounded off my Alpha Barrier and caused an avalanche. You got buried in it and I pulled you out of it and brought you here." Pelame's face implied that she was getting ready to cry. "This is all my fault, Mori. If I had just accepted that you weren't a Demon and tricked you up to this mountain, none of this would've happened. You almost died because of me. I'm sorry, Mori! I'm so sorry!" She placed her head on him.

Mori didn't know what to make of what was going on. Pelame, the pretentious know-it-all who never missed a chance to try to prove she was smarter than him, was now fretting over his well-being to the point of looking like she could cry at any moment? He couldn't deny it was nice to see her be so nice to him, and deep down, he never did harbor ill will toward her. Though it really did test his patience when she wouldn't stop getting on his case about anything she felt like. The brawl in Mujizoto Tower was a serious blow, and then the last straw that finally made him truly angry at her was her deception that got them into this mess. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to be so angry at her anymore. It was likely because he saw her exhibit something he hadn't seen her exhibit before:

Regret.

"Mori… why did you help me earlier against Morihito?" Pelame asked, trying not to cry. "I didn't deserve your help after what I did."

"I guess I understood the situation as soon as that guy showed up," Mori explained. "You mistook him for me, right?"

"Yes, even though I only saw him once. And I'd heard that you were spoken to by the Dark Blessing."

"Yes, I was. How did you know? You had to have found out somehow so you could send Harry to ask me about it."

"The Dark Blessing itself told me. I know its tricks, but I still believed it anyway. I guess I was just so angry at you that it felt good hearing anything that could incriminate you. Even if it came from my true enemy. Mori, you have every right not to trust me anymore. If I've lost whatever trust you had in me before, I deserve it…"

Mori suddenly slapped Pelame across the face.

"Ouch! What was _that_ for?!"

"Well, mainly for all the underhanded stuff you did to me. But now, with that strike, I've gotten out all my anger at you. But I also did that because I don't want to hear you keep beating yourself up over this. Look, Pelame; although I haven't forgiven you yet, I can try to. For now, let's just focus on getting out of here, okay? We'll worry about everything else later."

Mori then suddenly felt a powerful bodily urge.

"Actually, that'll have to wait. I have to…" He quickly got out of the water and ran to a faraway section of the room. Once he dug a small hole and sat on it, Pelame instantly knew what was going on. She quickly shut her eyes and turned away.

"It's okay, Mori! I'm not looking!" she called, not facing in his direction. "Just come back when you're done!"

Mori returned after only two minutes. The soft sounds of the water alerted Pelame to his return. She opened her eyes and turned back around.

"Sheesh, what recovery from mild hypothermia does to the urinary system," Mori mused.

"Huh? Then why did you dig a hole?" Pelame asked. "That's usually for when you…" Pelame stopped herself once she remembered something she'd learned about this in her Llyria days.

"Yeah, the bodies of reptilian Pokémon like myself work differently from mammalian Pokémon. The urinary system is no exception. Let's just say that the way mine works keeps me from being able to write my name in snow."

"Uh, okay, two things, Mori: first, I knew that already. I _did_ have to take a Pokémon anatomy class to graduate from Llyria Academy. And second, EWW!"

"Heheh, yeah… sorry I got personal there… so… any ideas on how to get out of here?"

"Not really."

"Then let's get to looking for one."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the two had no luck finding a way out. The tunnel went deep, and the water level maintained its consistency. It was comfortable to wade through it, as it kept their bodies warm.

"So, Mori? How'd you get interested in history?" Pelame asked.

"Wow. I thought you'd _never_ ask me that," Mori responded, feeling both shocked and amused.

"Well, I might as well make conversation while we're on this adventure."

"All right, then. As a matter of fact, at first, I had no major. As you know, I graduated from Gerennaopo University. One semester, I transferred to Berragow Public School, and there was where my passion for history began. I met Jean there, and we got a group study project for the end of the term. He and I did a study on Marrant the Mutilator—"

"Whoa, started off dark, huh?"

"Yep. It sure could get revolting. After all, he was a mr. mime who posed as a street mime by day…"

"…to hide his true nature as Pumbloomberg's most dangerous serial killer."

"Oh, what that freak did to his poor victims… Jean and I had a laugh, though, when we got to the part about how he died of myocarditis, which he caught from one of his victims."

"I normally don't take delight in others' misfortunes, but I admit I also found that ironically hilarious. How'd you do on that project, by the way?"

"84 points out of 100. It had really strict guidelines. But we still got a passing grade on it. So how about you? What got you into history?"

"As a matter of fact, I knew from the beginning that I wanted to study history. My grandmother gave me a copy of _Anthology of Legendary Pokémon _for—" Pelame then suddenly slipped and fell into the water. "I'm all right…" she said, spitting out water. "It got deep all of a sudden."

Mori decided to see for himself. And indeed, the water did actually get deeper. The bottom was no longer visible.

"Wait…" Pelame got an idea then. She dove under the water and lit up her Alpha Sigil. The bottom of the water was now visible. It went down quite a few meters. Near the very bottom, Pelame could see an opening. She then dimmed the light and swam back up to the surface. "Mori, I think I just found a way out."

"I saw it, too. I hope you have a rebreather somewhere on you, 'cause I don't."

"Nope. We'll just have to rely on our lung capacities."

"That's gonna be a problem. Suppose there's a maze in that tunnel, and we get lost in it…"

"I'm not afraid of deep water, but that's still a frightening thought…" Pelame got another idea. She created an Alpha Cord from her Sigil. "Tie this to that boulder over there." Mori went over to the boulder a few centimeters to his right and did so. "I'm not saying this to brag, but I have the better lung capacity between us. So I'm going ahead to scout out the right path, and this Alpha Cord will be the guideline that'll lead you down it once I find it. 140 seconds is about how long I can stay underwater, though. This Alpha Cord will stay connected to me through my Alpha Sigil until I disconnect it myself. I'll keep it connected to myself while I'm underwater so if you need to pull me up if I'm down there for longer than my limit, you can."

"Will do. Good luck, Pelame."

After explaining her plan, she went forth to carry it out. She took a deep breath and dove into the warm water's depths. She entered the tunnel and found it to be quite long. By the time she reached a two-way split, 70 of her seconds were up. She couldn't waste any time debating which way to go, so she went right without giving much thought on the matter. The path stretched out annoyingly far, but she was relieved to see it ended with a surface area. She was beginning to need air by this point, despite having 45 seconds until her estimated time ran out. But although there was air in the chamber she found, it wasn't the way forward. There were only walls and ceiling in the area. And the ceiling was very low; she could barely even get her face above the water when looking directly up. Regardless, she still was able to replenish her air supply. She soon dove back down and resumed looking for the way out. She went down the other remaining path once she reached the two-way split, finding an even longer tunnel sprawling in front of her.

_"__I hope Mori will be able to make it…" _Pelame thought once her lungs started to crave oxygen.

The tunnel then went straight up, and so did she. About halfway through it, she felt a tug on her Alpha Cord. It was dragging her back down. She fought against it, but to no avail. Worse still, she was getting dangerously close to running out of air. There was only one solution to her problem, but it was drastic. It had to be done, though. She disconnected the Alpha Cord from herself and swam up as quickly as she could. She made it to the surface with only 20 seconds to spare. She then turned back around and sent another Alpha Cord down the tunnel and caught the other Alpha Cord before it disappeared from her sight. Then she tied her current one around another nearby boulder.

"It's all right, Mori. I'm okay…" Pelame said to herself.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Mori responded.

"What the…" Pelame certainly didn't expect to get a response. "Mori, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can. It's coming from your Alpha Cord. Did you know these could be spoken through?"

"I do now. Anyway, I found the right way to go. Just follow the guideline and meet me here. I'll salvage you if you need me to. Tug on the cord three times to let me know if you need help."

"All right. Here I come."

Mori only kept Pelame waiting two minutes by the time he arrived, coughing and sputtering as he climbed out of the water.

"Whoof… sheesh, that tunnel really went on for ages. I didn't think I could hold my breath for longer than 105 seconds. Really wondering how you pulled it off, Pelame. Checking all three of those tunnels couldn't have been easy."

"Nope, it wasn't," Pelame responded. "But at least you didn't have to—wait, what do you mean 'all three of those tunnels?' There were only two down there. Well, not counting the one I entered from."

"No, there were definitely three down there. Your Alpha Cord didn't light the tunnel up all that much, but I could still see there were three tunnels."

"Never mind… I'm not going down there to check. Let's just get going."

The two set off to go deeper into the cavern. For seemingly no reason, the entire cavern chamber suddenly completely changed its shape.

"The Suffering…?!" Mori exclaimed.

"What just happened?!" Pelame added in a similarly confused tone. "Is that a staircase over there? Am I going crazy?"

"Nope. I can see a staircase." The two Researchers approached it. "It's perfectly square-shaped like in those old console games…" Mori stepped on the first step to begin going down it. But once his foot touched down on the step, the cavern changed shape once again.

"What's going on here?!" Pelame demanded. "This place is so weird!"

"I know!" Mori agreed. "It's like nowhere I've ever seen before! It's like this place is some kind of—"

"Mori, you don't think this place is…"

"A Mystery Dungeon?!" Both Researchers guessed at once.

"How can it be, though?" Mori pondered. "Mystery Dungeons disappeared from Pocketurn long ago!"

"You know, I'm beginning to think that's not the case. Or at least, not anymore."

"You mean, you're thinking something caused them to come back."

"It's a possibility. I don't know! With all the craziness going on in the world, whether or not it's because of the Dark Blessing causing all kinds of trouble, I'm having trouble knowing what's what anymore—"

"Wait, Pelame! You could be onto something there!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"The Dark Blessing's effects on the world! Maybe it _does_ have something to do with this! Besides, Genesis Day is coming soon, so maybe that's also a factor."

"Maybe. Can we discuss this more when we get out of here, though? I've only been in here for about an hour, but I'm already seeing why only the bravest of Pokémon dared explore these awful places."

"Sure. Let's get out of here. Oh, and Pelame?"

"What?"

"For the record, I think you're plenty brave enough."

"…thanks, I guess."

As the two continued on further into the Mystery Dungeon, they were unaware that they were being closely followed.

* * *

Pelame and Mori had been inside the cave for close to three hours by now, which did no favors for their stomachs. Having no supplies with them meant they had no food or drinks, either. Neither of those things were turning up in the cave, let alone any items at all, quite unlike the Mystery Dungeons they'd read about in old texts.

"Those explorers in the old days sure were lucky to have food handed to them by the dungeons they explored…" Mori complained.

"Yeah. But other than that, I think we've had it easier than them so far," Pelame said. "We haven't run into any wild Pokémon, set off any traps, or stumbled into those things they called 'Monster Houses' so far. But yeah, I'm starving."

"Once we get out of here, I'm going to eat the local burger joint out of house and home—"

Far off in the distance behind them, they heard something that sounded like an explosion. Water then came rushing at the two Researchers, sweeping them away. The entire floor was flooded with the warm water within seconds. As soon as the current stopped, Pelame reoriented herself and swam back the way she'd come. She was also hoping Mori was safe. As she made her return trip, she found the next staircase and made a mental note of its location. It wasn't out of the way, so she saw no need to make a guideline to it. Once she finally reached the area she and Mori were at when they heard the explosion, she found him there. His tail was pinned under a large boulder, trapping him there. It looked like he was trying to use Rock Smash on the boulder, but the water was slowing his movements down. Nothing else he tried was working. Pelame swam over and attempted in vain to move the boulder aside, or at least jostle it enough to free Mori's tail. While doing this, she noticed that Mori's movements were slowing down, and he appeared to be nodding off.

_"__He's drowning!"_ Pelame fearfully thought, barely noticing she was close to that point herself.

She turned her tail iron to sink herself to the ground so as to give herself leverage to what she was going to try next. She attached an Alpha Cord to the base of Mori's tail and pulled as hard as she could. Luckily, she was able to get him free. Quickly as she could, she loaded him onto her back and swam as quickly as she could to the staircase she passed earlier. On the way there, Mori's eyes shut and he stopped moving; he had lost consciousness.

_"__Hang in there, Mori! We're almost there!"_

Pelame had been so focused on saving Mori that she hadn't been paying attention to how her own lungs were managing. She'd already reached her limit, which caused her eyelids to become heavy. She finally reached the staircase and touched it, transporting herself and Mori to the next floor. There was no water on the floor they got to, meaning Pelame was free to breathe in again. She coughed out a bit of water between gasps for air. She unloaded Mori from her back and saw that he was still unconscious.

"What I wouldn't give to know CPR right now…" Pelame worried. To her relief, she felt a pulse when she placed a paw to his wrist. He was still alive. But now the problem was waking him up. She had only one idea, one that would certainly humiliate her if anyone was nearby to see it. She opened Mori's mouth and then put her own mouth over his, inhaling while their mouths were connected. All it took was one inhale to bring Mori back into consciousness. He sat up with a start and coughed out the water he had swallowed.

"*gasp* *puff* Whoa… *gasp* I thought I… *gasp* *puff* was a goner back there…" Mori said while regaining air. "Before I blacked out, I saw you coming to… so, you saved my life twice now, it looks like. Pelame, thank you."

"No problem, Mori," Pelame responded. "I'm just glad you're okay. You are, right?"

"Yep." Mori stood back up. "Although my tail's a bit sore."

"What happened, anyway?"

"Well, I don't know where that explosion we heard earlier came from, but I guess it blew a hole in the ceiling somewhere on the previous floor. I suppose it drained the water from the floor above it, and it brought some boulders along with it, and one of them landed on my tail and pinned me there. Honestly, if you hadn't come back when you did, I'd be dead. Anyway, let's keep going."

"Okay. I think we're just about there, anyway. I see light."

Sure enough, an opening to outside lay at the end of the corridor. Pelame and Mori excitedly left the Mystery Dungeon, finding themselves at the base of the snowy mountain. The snow was only at the peak, so the climate was much warmer where they were at now.

"We made it!" Pelame cried in joy.

"Yes, we did," Mori added. "Now we just have to get back to the HQ. Do you know what time it is?"

"Yep. It's time for you two to be dealt with!"

Pelame and Mori looked around for whoever had said that. A Solarbeam came careening out of nowhere, aimed at Pelame. Acting quickly, Mori pushed Pelame out of the way. When the dust cleared, the culprit became visible. Morihito stood to face them once again.

"So, it looks like the cave flood I caused didn't stop you two," he said.

"So that was you, then? I can't really say I'm surprised," Mori said to his imposter.

"Well, no problem. I can just off you two myself!"

"Go ahead and try it, you piece of trash. You won't win."

"And when this is over," Pelame added. "You will lose that Dark Blessing of yours, and you will go to jail where you belong."

Pelame and Mori engaged the Demon-type zorua masquerading as a treecko in battle, picking up where their last battle left off. From his fingers, Morihito tossed Dark Threads at Mori. Pelame blocked them with her Alpha Cord, effectively connecting the two attacks together. Morihito used this opportunity to lift Pelame into the air and toss her away. This backfired on him when Pelame reeled in her Alpha Cord once she landed, launching Morihito into one of the small holes on the side of the mountain. The imposter hung there, stuck and kicking his legs around in an attempt to escape. Pelame disconnected her Alpha Cord from his Dark Threads. She created another Alpha Cord and tied his legs together with them. After disconnecting that one from herself, she created another one.

"Mori, I need you to pull him out so I can tie his hands together quickly," Pelame said.

"Good idea," Mori responded. He approached the struggling bottom of the imposter treecko and grabbed his tail. Once he pulled, Pelame made her move to restrain his hands. It worked perfectly; Morihito was rendered helpless. "Now's your chance, Pelame!"

"Got it. Thanks, Mori!" Pelame approached the imposter and encased him in an aura of Alpha Power. Once it engulfed him completely, Pelame walked up to him and made physical contact with him. Upon doing so, she felt the connection between their souls. "You are not welcome within the soul of this Pokémon," she said to the Dark Blessing once she located it. "Leave him be!" The Dark Blessing disappeared from Morihito's soul, and the Alpha Purify aura dissipated as Pelame broke contact with his body. He was still trussed up by the Alpha Cords, though.

"Is he Purified now?" Mori asked.

"Yep," Pelame answered. "I feel like I get stronger the more I do this—Mori, you… you evolved!"

"I did?" Mori hadn't noticed until now that he was suddenly taller. He figured it must have happened while Pelame was Purifying Morihito. He looked down at his new body and saw that he had indeed evolved into a grovyle. "Well, how about that? My tail's no longer sore." He looked down toward his tail area and saw that there was one leaf there constituting as his new tail.

"Zotoan grovyles have just one tail leaf, it seems."

"Yep. I'm happy with it, though, even though it makes my pink butt stand out."

"Urrrghhh… there, now you ruined _everything_ for me," Morihito complained. "My underground glue factory in the old palace, the forest I was setting out to swipe from Celebi; thanks to you, both failed!"

"Well, Morihito, that's what you get for misusing the Dark Blessing for such selfish goals!"

"Wow, you really thought you'd stand a chance against Celebi?" Mori said, starting to laugh a little.

"My Dark Blessing would've assured my victory. But now that it's gone, I can't do it anymore."

"That's right," Pelame said. "Now, you're coming with us."

"But so what if you took me down?! You're never gonna be rid of the Dark Blessing! You're just fighting a losing battle, you know! So just give up now—"

Hearing enough of this, Pelame used another Alpha Cord to muzzle Morihito.

"Want to carry him?" Pelame offered.

"Sure," Mori answered. He picked up the imposter and slumped him onto his shoulder. Having just evolved, it was easy to do.

* * *

The time was 6:00PM, dinnertime at the TIGHS HQ. Pelame and Mori had still not shown up, and Trailblazer was very displeased about that. So, once they did arrive, they were sent straight to his office. He scowled at the both of them.

"I consider myself a reasonable Pokémon," he began. Though his voice was at a low volume, it was clear that he was very angry. Such an intimidating atmosphere hadn't been exuded from him since the Mujizoto Tower incident. "In running this guild, I try not to expect the impossible from those working in it. So the rules I set are within perfectly reasonable boundaries. I told you two to be back by 5:00PM while your probation lasted, and yet here you two show up one hour later than that. Do you not remember what I said would happen if you broke that restriction?!"

Pelame and Mori feared those words more than any other spoken by their boss at this time.

"I hope you two have a good reason to deliberately disobey me, so let's hear it."

Pelame had already been hit with the terrible realization that everything that had happened up in the mountain was her fault. Now, she was prepared to pay for it with her job.

"It was my fault, sir," Mori suddenly said before Pelame could say anything. "You see, I'd heard rumors of a gangster hanging out in a cave on the peak of the mountains east of Suzaku City. I'd heard he was a Demon, so I went to Pelame to ask her for her help in taking him on and bringing him to justice. She said 'yes' and followed me up the mountain. But our foe turned out to be more cunning than we thought. An avalanche happened during the fight and trapped us in a cave on the peak. Pelame and I only managed to escape by working together. Not to mention that she saved me twice while we were in that cave; once from freezing to death, and the other from drowning in warm water when the culprit we were chasing caused a flood. Then, when we got out of the cave, we fought the perp again and won. Pelame Purified him and we took him to jail. As for the culprit, he was a zorua who was masquerading around as a treecko. Pelame mistook him for me, which was another reason why she went with me to apprehend him. She wanted to keep him from framing me for attempting to conquer Celebi's forest. Honestly, sir, I owe my life to Pelame. If it weren't for her, I'd be dead. And she saved me both those times even though I got us both into that mess in the first place."

"Wait a minute, sir, that isn't at all how it went! It was _my_—"

"Pelame, quiet!" Trailblazer ordered, instantly silencing Pelame. "You've been at his throat for long enough already!" He turned back to Mori. "Though frankly, this time, I wouldn't blame her. Mori, that was reckless of you to chase after someone to such a harsh place and drag Pelame along with you. I cannot help but feel quite livid with you for that. You both could've died—and in fact, Mori, _you_ nearly died _twice_—and it would've been your own fault! Do you have anything to say for yourself?!"

"No, sir…"

"Well, I hope you know how lucky you are that you and Pelame escaped alive from that predicament you caused! And I also hope you know how lucky you are that I'm taking the circumstances of your escape into account of my decision not to fire you both."

"Come again?"

"The two of you finally learned to cooperate, and you also brought another Demon to justice. So, although I'm definitely mad at you for violating curfew, I'm not as angry as I'd normally be about that, considering the circumstances. Therefore, Pelame, you will be gaining one more day onto your probation, and Mori, you will be gaining two, as well as a permanent 10% pay cut for your recklessness. Let that be a lesson to you. Now, go get your dinner and go to your crew rooms. Good night."

"Good night, sir," Pelame and Mori said to their boss as they left the office.

As soon as Pelame and Mori finished their food, Pelame entered Mori's crew room while everyone else was beginning to retire for the night.

"Mori," Pelame said, whispering.

"What is it, Pelame?" Mori answered, also whispering.

"Why did you do that?! Why did you lie to Trailblazer just now?! Don't you know he could've fired you?!"

"Don't you know he _would've_ fired _you_ if he knew the truth?"

Pelame couldn't respond to that. She was too overwhelmed with gratitude to.

"Pelame, you saved me twice today, and you finally showed me what a great Pokémon you can be. It really looks like we're finally friends now. So, as your friend, I decided to do you a favor. You saved my life, so I saved your job."

"…you did… Mori… I don't know what to say except… thank you. Thank you very much."

"No problem, Pelame. And also, consider yourself forgiven for everything."


	24. The Next Destination

Chapter 24 – The Next Destination

* * *

"Well, Researchers, our time in Shizazoto ends today," Trailblazer said, beginning his announcements for the morning. "Of course, because of that attack that happened over in Ordoxivia, we're going to be staying there for only one week. Not only that, but air traffic to and from there has dramatically decreased. I could only get us tickets there for a 3:50PM departure, which will put us in Ordoxivia at about 8:10PM. Finally, there are no longer any flights going directly to Wixatow, so we'll have to get there ourselves after we land in Idalam. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes, sir!" everyone responded.

"Little pop quiz before I continue: of those two Doxivish cities I named, which of those is the capital?"

To everyone's surprise, Pelame didn't raise her paw, and nor did she object when Mori was called on.

"Wixatow is the capital of Ordoxivia, sir!" he answered.

"Correct, Morikain!" Trailblazer complimented. _"Almost forgot Mori evolved… I'm so much more used to reading the lips of a treecko."_

"Is Pelame up to something?" Komed whispered to Redfoot. "She would've normally gone ballistic in response to Mori answering a question."

"So, since our plane leaves late," Trailblazer continued. "This will be your last chance to sightsee in the city. Just be sure to be back here by 3:00PM. Now then, let's get to it, everyone—Pelame, do you have a question?"

"Yes, sir," Pelame said. "Mori and I want to make an announcement. May we join you there?"

"Sure."

Pelame and a flustered Mori went to the front of the room, where Trailblazer stood.

"Oh, wait," Trailblazer said. "I'd better join the audience. That way I can see what you're saying." Trailblazer took a spot between Solothurn and Rooter.

Pelame turned to Mori, who was standing next to her. She made sure Trailblazer could see her face. "Morikain," she began. "For the time I've been in TIGHS, I've had a great time studying and researching with everyone here. Except for you, that is."

"AAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" Komed screamed in frustration.

"Komed, calm down! It's not what it sounds like." Pelame turned back to Mori. "It never was fun, or any kind of pleasant at all, researching with you. And the reason why is, well, because of me. For basically no reason other than you being a Summa Cum Laude like me, I was always at your throat. I guess I felt like you didn't deserve your Summa Cum Laude status, but now I know it was because I felt like I was the best historian in the world. And because of that pretentious attitude of mine, I made your life Suffering. And even worse, Kasumi ended up getting fired because I just _had_ to start a physical brawl with you."

"Actually, Kasumi shouldn't have interfered with them," Harry whispered to Jean.

"In summation, Mori, I've thought this ever since we escaped from that cave yesterday and caught that imposter by cooperating. I want to start over. Morikain, I want to be your friend for real, and I'm very sorry for how mean I've been to you."

"Well, Pelame, I'd be more than happy to give you another chance. And consider your apology accepted."

"Thanks, Mori." Pelame then turned to face the other TIGHS members and staff. "And my apology goes to the rest of you for getting you caught in the crossfire of my misguided feud with Mori. I want to be a better friend to all of you as well. Would that be okay?"

The crowd murmured among themselves, and then nodded.

"Thanks, everyone."

"You'd _better_ really mean this, Pelame!" Komed threatened.

"That concludes our announcement. Thank you."

Pelame and Mori returned to their usual spot. Trailblazer took back his announcing spot.

"That sure was heartfelt," Trailblazer noted. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm willing to give those two a chance. Anyway, let's make the most of our last day in Shizazoto!"

"Yes, sir!" everyone responded. They then dispersed to their work. Pelame and Mori approached Trailblazer.

"So, where are you two headed?" he asked.

"Celebi's Forest," Pelame and Mori answered in unison.

"Ooooh, great choice! Mind your manners, you two."

"We will," Pelame answered. "We'll be back by 3:00PM, too. See you then."

* * *

"Stop it! I can't take much more of this!" Weston begged, still imprisoned in Poisonpore's secret underground lair. "You're gonna kill me!"

"No, I won't, weakling," Poisonpore taunted. "In fact, you've given me all the practice I need. You're not useful to me anymore. Thanks to you, I'm ready for my little errand in Tradja."

"Then are you finally going to release me?!"

"Oh, absolutely not! I can't have you letting the authorities know where I'm going. You're staying right here. In fact, just to be certain…"

Poisonpore dug a hitch into the ceiling. He then gagged Weston with a Rawst Scarf and tied his hands and feet together with Dark Threads. He tossed another Dark Thread into the hitch and tied it to the threads trussing the chimchar up. He finished by hoisting his victim up and cutting the thread short so that he was hanging from the ceiling by his hands and feet.

"Oh. Almost forgot…" Poisonpore got out another Rawst Scarf and sewed it over the fiery spot on Weston's bottom. "There you go. Now, off I go." Poisonpore turned himself into liquid poison and climbed up one of the many small air holes in the wall. Once he was above ground, he resumed his normal form and went to the airport to sneak aboard a plane heading to Tradja. Weston was left stranded in the underground chamber, struggling to escape and trying to shout for help. The Aspear Scarf muffled his cries for help.

* * *

Blessing was out in the city with nothing to do. Strapped for ideas on what to do, she decided to visit Snivy in the Llyria County Salary Office. The two hadn't met since the dinner Blessing invited her out to. She was relieved to see there was no line to see Snivy.

"Oh, hey there, Blessing," Snivy greeted.

"Hi, Snivy," Blessing responded. "Busy day?"

"Yep. See that line you just cut in front of? So many angry patrons…"

"Heeheehee, such sarcasm!"

"So, Blessing, what do you need? There isn't any money here for you, if that's why you're here."

"Oh, I know. I just wanted to see you again. Just to have a little chat."

"I see. Well, depending on clientele, I don't know if we'll be able to do that—"

"Then let's do lunch!"

"What?"

"What?"

"Lunch? Where at?"

"Lunch? Who said anything about lunch?"

"You did, as of a second ago."

"I did?"

"Yep. And I can do that on my lunch break. I'm on lunch break at 1:00PM to 1:30PM, and I spend it at the Berry Queen next door. Sound good?"

"Uhhhh… I guess so."

"Okay. See you then."

"See you then, Snivy." Blessing left the Salary Office.

_"__What in the world just came over me?"_ she wondered, confused. This was the second time she made an impromptu plan with Snivy. _"Well, it's already 12:22PM. I might as well get myself ready…"_

* * *

"Whoa…" Mori said, awed. "I haven't been here since I was three months old, and it hasn't changed at all since then."

The forest west of Suzaku City was home to Celebi, a mythical Pokémon. Mori's memories of the forest were faint, but he at least remembered its general appearance.

"You came here before?" Pelame asked.

"Yep. You see, it's a bit of an obscure tradition. You likely don't know about it."

"Well, I never heard of Shizazoto having traditions centered around Celebi. The only thing I know about Celebi is the same thing everyone knows about her. That she guards this forest along with many others. Plus, the whole 'Paths of Time' story."

"Ah, yes. But anyway, there's a super-obscure tradition in this country concerning her. Families take their children to receive a blessing from her. The trip must be made before the child turns one year old. It's basically like a dedication ceremony, dedicating a child to the world. But like I said, it's extremely obscure. In fact, not too many families in Shizazoto even do it anymore."

"Why not? It sounds like a nice tradition."

"I guess since Celebi is such an elusive Pokémon, that likely discouraged a lot of Zotoans from even bothering to come here because they thought Celebi would stay hidden, which would then mean they wasted a trip."

"Ooof…"

"There it is. Celebi's Shrine."

In a small clearing far into the forest, there was a small structure that was only one story tall. Inside it was a small shallow pool with a statue of Celebi in the middle of it.

"That's her," Mori said.

"I'd love to meet her, to be honest," Pelame responded. "Although my favorite of the Legendary stories will always be _Jirachi's Final Wish_, I thought _Paths of Time_ was good enough to get second place with me. Tokiwa, next to Taiyang, was a role model of mine when I was growing up. Avoiding the temptation to use Celebi and Dialga's time power even though it would've fixed all of his life's problems was one of the best parts of that whole anthology."

"FINALLY!"

Before the two Researchers appeared a small green fairy-like Pokémon. She gave Pelame a hug.

"YES! At last, someone who knows the _actual_ story! Do you _know_ how many idiot visitors I've had to my shrine who think that awful Sivik-Ripney film told the real story?!"

"H-hello, Miss Celebi," Pelame greeted, feeling very flustered.

"Oooh, such a nice girl, calling me 'Miss Celebi'!" Then Celebi looked at Mori. "Oh, wow, I haven't seen you since you were a baby, Morikain! Who knew that it'd only take you till you turned sixteen years old to become such a hunky guy! Check you out!" She flew around Mori, examining every angle of him. "Yep, you sure grew up to be handsome! Aww, you're blushing!" Mori indeed was blushing, as Celebi noted. "And who's your friend here?" She flew over to Pelame and examined her from all angles as well. She stopped once she saw the Alpha Sigil on her chest. "Wait a sec… you wouldn't happen to be Pelame, would you?"

"Yes, I'm Pelame," Pelame introduced.

"Back when I had the ability to travel through time, I once met Grani. He was a good Pokémon. I can see his spirit lives on within you." Celebi then rebounded to her usual energy. "So, since you know my story—my _true_ story; not the hackjob Sivik-Ripney did—you must know why I can't time travel anymore, right?"

"Well, you're not the only one who lost the ability to travel through time. Tokiwa had stopped Ginga from misusing yours and Dialga's power to undo his loss at Wixatow, which would've made him able to conquer Ordoxivia, but at the cost of great damage done to space and time. That was why Dialga destroyed his chronolite, so that most all abilities having to do with manipulating time permanently vanished from all of existence. Although Dialga can still monitor time and regulate it, he can't fully control it anymore, nor can he travel through it. And for that matter, you can't travel through time anymore, either."

"Exactly. And honestly, it was a necessary sacrifice. Time travel really is nothing but trouble. Sure, it could solve any manner of problems, but it also can _cause_ too many _more_ problems. It wasn't worth it. The only time manipulation ability Dialga still has is the ability to create small force-fields where time flows slower inside than out; one of those 'month inside, hour outside' kind of deals. But he needs Palkia's help for that, and honestly, there's really not much of an occasion to use that ability. But anyway, you got my story right! Do you have a camera?"

"Yes."

"Perfect! Let's get a picture together!" Celebi dug into Pelame's backpack and retrieved the camera. She used her Psychic Power to hold it at an appropriate distance to get herself, Pelame, Mori, and her statue in the shot. She situated herself in the middle of the shot as Mori made a V-sign with his right hand. "Smile!" She then took the shot and put the camera back. "I like using my Psychic Power to take shortcuts. Could you imagine me, a Pokémon with hands, using a camera for four-legged Pokémon? *Heehee*! Well, be seeing you!" Celebi disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Wow… She's less energetic than she was portrayed in the movie, but still, wow…"

"Yeah, she's a bundle of energy," Mori concurred.

* * *

Blessing climbed out of the shower and brushed the roughest sections of her fur. She then preened her three tail feathers with her claws and did the same with her head feather. She was now ready to go.

"Seeyoulatermom," she said to Adorbs as she quickly left the house. She only had ten minutes to get to Berry Queen before Snivy's lunch break started. By the time she got there, nine of those minutes expired. Snivy wasn't there yet, so she had time to reserve a table for two.

"The other seat's for the Snivy who usually comes here," Blessing clarified.

"We'll point her there once she arrives," answered the cyndaquil waiter. "Her regular table's been taken, so you can wait at the one next to it."

Blessing tracked down the specified table and sat at it. She took a look at the menu to see if the place had anything she liked. By the time she found something, Snivy arrived and took the seat next to her.

"So they gave you the lake seat, huh?" Snivy asked.

"Looks like it," Blessing answered. "Even though we can't even see most of the lake from here. I sure hope you try to avoid this one when you come here on your own."

"Of course I do. What idiot would even build a restaurant seat and table that directly faces a wall—or in this case, a window?"

"Beats me. At least it doesn't face a street full of cars that give off sun glares."

"Indeed. Instead, we get a slight sun glare off the _lake_."

"Ouch… but it's not happening now, though."

"Give it time…"

"Good afternoon," greeted the cyndaquil waiter from before. "What are you in the mood for?"

"My usual," Snivy answered.

"I'll have the Occa Berry Soup and a medium Roseli Berry Shake with it," Blessing answered.

"Coming right up," the waiter answered as he left.

"We won't be waiting long," Snivy said to Blessing. "The afternoon staff are perfectly suited for lunch crowds."

"Hey, Snivy," Blessing said. "Have you spoken to your old Team Static pals?"

"Every now and then, I do. I was just talking to Paras yesterday over the phone. I got lucky that I called during visiting hours, which is the only way to talk to inmates over the phone. From what he said last I spoke to him, Scyther will be out in two weeks. He told me about how Scyther got his sentence shortened as a reward for good services toward the facility."

"Wow. What'd he do that they liked so much?"

"Apparently, he ratted out some fellow inmates that were secretly tunneling through the walls and helped fix the damage caused by the tunneling. So, they rewarded him for that with a shortened sentence. Two weeks, and he'll be as free as me. Then Wynaut will come after him, and then Paras will be last."

"Well, sounds like those guys are on the mend. I'd hope they are."

The food arrived, and Blessing and Snivy dug into it.

* * *

"And that's it, so far," Pelame said, having finished showing Mori her photo album. "Sorry you kept having to see my friend Blessing show her butt to the camera."

The staff and Researchers of TIGHS were on board the plane heading to Ordoxivia. For a portion of the trip, Pelame had decided to fill Mori in on her college days and show him her photo album. It chronicled her time at Llyria Academy and TIGHS. Currently, it ended with the photo of herself, Mori, and Celebi.

"It's okay," Mori said. "You know, your life really wasn't as average as you keep saying it was."

"Maybe not. But honestly, I'd take that comparatively average life over the miserable constantly-hunted-down-by-an-evil-power excuse of a life I'm living now."

"I think anyone would. By the way, how often do you speak to those friends of yours back home? I'm sure Pugno really misses you a lot."

"Well, I just speak to him whenever I can. Same goes for the others. Thing is, either I've been really busy so their calls miss me by centimeters, so to speak, or I have similarly bad luck in mistiming my calls to them. I'll be trying again once we get to the HQ in Wixatow."

"Well, we'll be there in about two hours."

* * *

In the big Tradjan city of Hamblin, Recht had lived for a day as an official citizen of Tradja. His Twilit days under the name of Hot Air were officially over. Nowadays, he only kept that name to his online self. He was still waiting on the international mail service to deliver his computer to him, so, for the time being, he could only physically talk "Riptide" with some new faces. No familiars as of yet, which made for conversations that never went too far past the ice-breaking stage. A fan club was mentioned to him, and he was able to get permission to guest speak at the next meeting. This afternoon was that moment.

The club met in the Recreational Center of Hamb Park promptly at 5:00PM Tradjan time. The show's newest episode had aired the previous night to the usual audience and critical acclaim, so it would serve as the first topic of discussion. Recht had fun discussing the new episode, but it was the later half of the meeting that he was looking forward to. That was when special guests were to speak of any show-related topic they could think of. This was usually extended to Pokémon who would become new members of the club, which Recht was. This would serve as his inauguration into the club. When the time came, he took center stage and made his speech.

"It's been an honor being among true fans of the national treasure known as 'Riptide'. Last night, I finally got to watch a new episode of it not as an overseas fan who could only watch it on the Internet, but as a domestic fan tuned to Sieren TV. 'Riptide' inspired me to begin a new life here in Tradja. Honestly, I'd had enough of life in the Twilight Kingdom; crime rates rose too high for my comfort. But that's nothing compared to what they did to 'Riptide'… I hope none of you have seen it, but feel free to raise your hands if you did."

Recht was not pleased to see that just over half the members raised their hands/paws to answer the question.

"You all have my pity. Those of you who didn't see it made the right choice. But in order for you to get what I'm saying, I must share with you what Sivik-Ripney did to destroy the show. I don't have a copy with me—but, really, why would anyone?—so you'll just have to take my word for it. Haigsfeld honestly felt that it was a good idea to give Cap a cliché pirate accent, thicken Jaimie's accent, change all the cider to wine, and worst of all, replace the background musical score with their own junk that they call music. And all of that happened to just the very first episode! Who knows what else they would've done to it? Would they remove all the Old Tradjan expressions from the dialogue? Would they digitally erase all the signage that contained words in the older languages? Cover up Tradjan culture? Really, why would anyone ever think Sivik-Ripney was the best company to trust 'Riptide' to? Why not just trust a terrorist with a sarin lab?! *siiiiiigggghhhhhh* There's nothing more for me to say, so I'll just go to taking questions now."

"I've got one," said a small patrat in the front row. "Why aren't there any new episodes of their version of 'Riptide'? It's been weeks since the premiere, and Haigsfeld said it would be a weekly series."

"Tod, you didn't hear about that?" asked the bidoof in the next seat. "The Sivik-Ripney Localization Office got burned down, taking all of its assets with it."

"Oh, then I withdraw my question. But I have another one: it was just the first episode. While I don't think it was bad, I thought it was enjoyable for what it was. Do you think maybe they could've gotten better if they'd been able to dub more of it?"

"Not a chance!" Recht answered. "And I'm happy that it didn't get a chance to continue."

"Wait, what?!" demanded a quilladin in the middle row. "You're _happy_ Haigsfeld basically lost his entire livelihood?!"

"It was no livelihood! He was committing a crime against art!"

"He was just trying to give a great show to another nation! That's no crime!"

"In and of itself, no, it's not. But making all those ridiculous changes to so-called 'make it palatable to Twilit audiences' is the problem!"

"Hey, Tradja did that to 'Klingdale Class', and it fared out great over here!" interjected a marill in the row one row up from the middle. "What's the problem with that?! I mean, sheesh, I understand the cider edit; cider isn't alcoholic in the Twilight Kingdom! That was a necessary change!"

"Do you even hear what you're saying right now?!" Recht continued. "You're supporting censorship of your own culture!"

"No we are not!" responded a snubbull in the row right behind the front row. "How can we when our culture wasn't even censored?!"

"If I'd let them continue ruining the show, they would've!"

"You don't know that for certain! And furthermore, what's that 'if you'd let them continue' comment supposed to mean?!"

"Hold it…" said a houndoom in the front row. "You must be Hot Air, the webmaster of that site that totally alienated itself from the entire 'Riptide' fandom by ridiculing those who liked Haigsfeld's localization of it!"

"That's right, Castor!" agreed the blitzle next to him. "I heard about this jerk, too! He _did_ burn down Haigsfeld's office!"

"Well, Mr. Recht—or should I say Hot Air," said the krookodile who led the club. "If anyone ruined 'Riptide', it's _you_."

"You've got a lot of nerve to say such a thing to the show's rescuer," Recht responded angrily.

"Rescuer? Everyone, who thinks Hot Air here rescued 'Riptide'?"

No one responded.

"And who thinks he ruined it?"

Everyone responded.

"Indeed. Not all of us here liked the Twilit version of the show—in fact, Castor there hated it—but we all, regardless of our feelings on it, acknowledged that those who did like it have every right to, and they have every right to keep enjoying it. You, Hot Air, took the entire show away from an entire nation. Tradja still has the show, but now because of you, we are the _only_ country who does and likely will ever, since now that the burning of Sivik-Ripney happened, all the other countries are too afraid of a similar outcry to dub the show themselves! You took 'Riptide' away from five-sixths of the entire planet of Pocketurn! _That_ is how you ruined 'Riptide'! So, consider your membership with us revoked, you miserable excuse of a Pokémon!"

At that announcement, everyone in the audience cheered.

"Fine then. Good riddance, die arschmade!" Recht then blasted through the roof with his Dark Blessing-enhanced from-his-vents flamethrower. Below, the club leader looked down on the ground, smelling something burning. There was a small melted area of the floor.

"…lava?"

* * *

The plane TIGHS was on landed in Idalam International Airport, as scheduled. The time was 8:10PM Doxivish time.

"All right, Researchers! We're here!" Trailblazer said enthusiastically. "Welcome to Ordoxivia! This is home to some of you, if I'm not mistaken. Again, sorry for us not being able to be here for longer than one week. But we can make the most of that time, can't we? So let's! All right! Off to Wixatow with us!" Sounding the call, everyone followed Trailblazer out of the airport. And after a two-hour journey by inter-city bus, they arrived at the TIGHS HQ in Wixatow. As was usual, the Researchers went and picked out the crew rooms they wanted. Pelame was the first to reach hers and open the door to it.

"Mori!" she called out to the grovyle.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"Need a room? My room has space for one more."

"Sure."

Trailblazer observed as this had happened. "…well, I'll be…" he said, pleased to see that the rivalry between the two Summa Cum Laudes really had ended.

* * *

Eighthmonth 15th had arrived. Pelame's probation ended this day, but Mori's still had one more day left. It was worth it as far as he was concerned, considering he gained a friend in Pelame in what he did to earn that one more day. Pelame was surprised to find that between herself and Mori, she got up first.

"Mori," she whispered to her fellow Summa Cum Laude. "It's time to get up. It's morning." She nudged him as gently as she could.

"Mmmmmnnggg…" Mori grumbled, barely awake. "Whaaatimeizzit?"

"7:43AM. The rest of the Guild will be having breakfast pretty soon. Want Redfoot to snag all the good stuff? Or Komed, since, being Doxivish, she'll likely go for the best stuff?"

"I guess not… ogay… I'm up." Mori slightly sluggishly got out of bed. "Sheesh, Pelame. You're an early riser."

"You, too. And no offense, but you kinda have a bit of a morning body odor."

"Eh?" Mori took a whiff of himself. "Whoof…! Well, I'm definitely not setting the thermostat up to 35°C anymore. But Doxivish winters are so cold, though…"

"It's okay, Mori. I probably don't smell too much better. Anyway, let's go get some food."

The two Summa Cum Laudes quickly got to the shower room and freshened themselves up for breakfast. To their dismay, Komed had already snagged all the food that looked the tastiest. They stuck to their usual Oran Cereal.

"So, you two finally got a room, eh?" Redfoot teased. "I knew it'd happen."

"Redfoot, what are you implying?!" Pelame demanded.

"Hey, no need to be so defensive. Enemies turning into friends isn't exactly unheard of, you know."

"True, and Pelame and I definitely are friends now," Mori said. "But you make it sound like us sharing a room made us—"

"Was she good?"

To that, Mori quickly slapped Redfoot across his face. "OW! Sheesh, can't you take a joke?!"

"Not when it goes that far, you creep! Besides, Pelame's already dating someone!"

"Mori, come on. Let's go get good spots for Trailblazer's opening announcements," Pelame said, mediating. Mori obliged and went with her to put the used dishes in the kitchen sink, and then to the common room to get a good spot. Right on the stroke of 8:00AM, Trailblazer entered and began his announcements.

"So, how about that Doxivish winter, huh? It's just part of being on a southern continent. Yet, somehow, it's hotter than Swadfrieg was. Though that could be because Bihda's closer to the Equator than Wixatow is. My point being that I set my thermostat way too high last night, and that's why I smell like a muk's tongue. Any of you also set your room's thermostats too high?"

The response to that question was a unanimous "yes."

"And somehow, all of you smell nicer than I do. Little tip for while we're here: bundle up. Doxivish winters are notoriously cold. We're talking -32°C here. Only Tradja's northernmost point that practically pokes the North Pole is colder. And, of course, both the polar ice caps. Still, Ordoxivia is in the top five when it comes to super-cold and potentially lethal winters, so be wary of that. Also, because of a rash of incidents involving domestic housewives emerging as dangerous criminal underworld bosses, Sultan Rajukh reinstated the escort law. Because of that, those of you who are female will have to be accompanied by a male Researcher whenever you're outdoors. Thankfully, the police aren't unreasonably hard on those who disobey that rule on first offenses, but still, better safe than sorry. And one more thing; Mustard has supposedly been sighted near here. That's why the Sultan has been working with Officer Pinna to place Alpha Barriers around all the commonly visited buildings in Wixatow, so as to protect them from a possible attack from Mustard."

_"__My father's here?!"_ Pelame thought to herself, excited to see her father again.

"While out doing research, you will all be leaving the safety of the Alpha Barriers. So, while you're out there, please be careful. And if you should encounter Mustard out there, focus on getting to a protected area. Not that I'm underestimating your battle skills, but unfortunately, Mustard is just too strong. Even Pinna and his fellow officer Valkyrie couldn't defeat him. And honestly, I worry about my own odds against him. So, will all this in mind, to a special topic; I am giving all of you an opportunity to gain a salary bonus."

This announcement excited everyone.

"What do you have to do to earn it? Well, that's very simple. It has to do with a Legendary Pokémon I'm sure you're all familiar with. Do let me know if the name 'North Wind' sounds familiar at all—" Everyone's hands and paws went up. "Well, I'd hope you knew. That's an easy one. Now how about his _real_ name, which also is the name of his species?" Trailblazer set a projector up to show a photo of the Legendary Pokémon in question, causing him to miss everyone correctly guessing his name. He turned back around to his subordinates. "I hope none of you were clamoring while I was setting this up." He pointed to his ears, signaling the reason for his statement. "So, as for his real name, I'll let one of you tell me. Komed, as Ordoxivia is your home, and we're in the Capital City of it, you can have this one."

"Thanks, sir," Komed replied. "And it sure is great to be back home. Anyway, the North Wind's true name is Suicune."

"Yep, you are correct. And if any of you were thinking that this little extra credit assignment has to do with him, you'd be right on that count, too. As you can see on the projection, this is a painting of Suicune, formerly the only known modern immortalization of him. Before this, there were merely hieroglyphs that have mostly worn out by now. Lately, though, there surfaced an actual photograph of him, and, honestly, it's junk. It got published on the Internet, and it got the ridicule it rightly deserved. I will have to show it to all of you so you know how much of a better job I'm expecting of you all. Because, really, _how can anyone mess up this badly?_"

Trailblazer put up the photograph he spoke ill of. One look at it made it clear how it got so infamous.

"Uh-huh. The idiot who took this picture at least had a good idea in getting a photo of Suicune jumping away. As you can plainly see, the problem is that the photographer took this picture from _directly behind_ Suicune, resulting in this abominable photo that looks no better than when some idiot prankster activates a photocopy machine while sitting on it!"

"Geez… Suicune's butt doesn't look _that_ bad…" Jean whispered to Harry.

"To sum up, what I want you all to do is get a good picture of him, preferably of his _face_. And also, please don't psychotically chase him. Not only will you never catch up to him, but I don't want any of you joining the ranks of those other deluded stalkers who wasted their lives on Legendary Pokémon. Of course, if none of us ever end up seeing him while we're here, no harm done. But assuming you do, get a good picture of him. A good face shot will earn you an extra 100 Pokéns on your next paycheck. A good full-body shot facing forward, mostly forward, or sideways will earn you 150 Pokéns. If you end up getting a mostly-from-behind shot, I'll award 100 Pokéns to that, too, just as long as his face is visible. But a shot like _this_ piece of junk will get you fired."

This threat slightly intimidated everyone.

"Just kidding. It'll just get you no bonus and also a very big '_this is the best you could do?!_' from me." Trailblazer shut the projector off. "Sorry you had to see that, everyone. So, wipe that photo out of your memories, and let's Research!"

"Yes, sir!" everyone replied. Monater went up to the projector and took the photo Trailblazer chastised.

"Oh, now that you have that photo in your hands, can you get rid of it for me?" Trailblazer asked of the Guild Bodyguard.

"Certainly, sir!" Monater answered. He went toward the trash can and dropped it very carefully, making it look from Trailblazer's perspective that it went in, when actually, it went behind it. Once Trailblazer's back was turned, Monater picked the photo up and took it to his crew room. _"I'll just hold onto you for a while…"_ he thought.

* * *

"No possible way…" Poisonpore thought as he reached Hamblin. "Hot Air's even stronger now?!"

**"****Yes. And whose fault is that?"**

"Oh, shut up! He's just cheating!"

**"****Regardless of how his power grew, the fact of the matter is that you gave him time to do that."**

"Maybe. Then I'll just give myself even _more_ time. Besides, I have more than one errand to run here in Tradja. There's someone here I've been wanting to meet very badly. So badly that I dared to hide out in that plane's septic tank to get here."

**"****That certainly was a messy trip. That show of yours sure does drive you insane."**

"Holmeister Studios, here I come!"

* * *

"Have a Flamethrower!" shouted a growlithe at a shiny umbreon. The umbreon dodged it, but not completely. The tip of her tail was hit, as was her hindquarters. The buizel and cottonee on the sidelines gasped in shock. The buizel then used Water Gun to extinguish the flame.

"Hehe… sorry, Near," said the growlithe. "I guess I have good aim."

"Can't dodge them all…" added the buizel.

"CUT!" shouted the watchog behind the camera. "And that's a wrap for today! Well done, everyone!"

Another day of filming for the next season of "Riptide" had concluded, though this time on a comedic note.

"You okay, Selena?" the buizel asked of the umbreon actress.

"Yes, Rapid, I'm fine," Selena answered. "You know, it wasn't so bad doing that stunt on my own."

"Sorry about that, Selena," apologized the growlithe.

"It's no problem at all, Jordan," Selena reassured. "I hardly felt it. In fact, I actually felt Rapid's Water Gun more than I felt your Flamethrower."

"Well, yeah," Rapid said. "Per the scene, my Water Gun basically spanked you."

"Yep, it did. Seriously, though. I'm not in any pain at all. I'm more exhausted, though, after all those sixteen hours of filming we did. I'm up for a rest. See you all tomorrow."

"See you, Selena! Good night!" Rapid and Jordan both said to their coworker.

Selena entered her trailer and ate her dinner. As she was about to take a sip of water, a purple liquid rose out of it. It then morphed into another umbreon.

"Hello, Selena!" Poisonpore greeted gleefully. "Nice to finally meet you!"

"H-hello there…" Selena answered, perturbed. "How did you just do that?"

"I'll explain later, honeypie. "For now, I just wanted to say that it's a dream come true meeting you right now!"

"Thanks. But you ought to have scheduled an appointment to meet me, or waited until the International Television Convention over in the Twilight Kingdom. It's happening in two months, and I'm going to it along with a few of my other colleagues."

"Oh, there was _no way_ I'd wait that long to meet the love of my life!"

"I'm sorry, mister, but I'm already dating someone. Do you want an autograph for your trouble? I'll give it to you. And I'm sorry to have to shoo you out, but I'm very tired—"

"Then sleep over at my place! I'll find one, and you can rest there." Poisonpore's eyes suddenly glowed. "Get some sleep."

"How are you… our species can't learn Hypnosis!"

"I'm no normal umbreon. Good night, my lovely…"

Selena lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground. Poisonpore then tied her up with Dark Threads, tied a nearby scarf over her mouth, and placed her into a burlap sack.


	25. The Dark Blessing's Depths

Chapter 25 – The Dark Blessing's Depths

* * *

Blessing stood outside the Llyria County Salary Office at 4:55PM Twilight Kingdom time. She was in the mood to see Snivy once more. They'd already met for dinner once, and then for lunch. This time, Blessing wasn't sure what was going to happen. The clock struck five, and Snivy was out for the day. Peeking through the glass doors, she saw Snivy heading toward an area in the back.

_"__She enters through the back door?"_ she thought. She went down the alley next to the office building and arrived in the back area. Just as she arrived there, Snivy came out the back door as expected. She stopped in surprise as soon as she saw Blessing standing there.

"Caught me at quitting time, I see," she said. "To what spontaneous plan do I owe _this_ visit?"

"Eh, none really," Blessing answered. "I just felt like saying 'hi'. So, how was work today?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just Pokémon wanting to get their money. Usual stuff."

"Sounds boring. It must be such a relief to go home every night, huh?"

"Yep."

"I'd be, too, if I had a job like this. On your way home, I hope you don't trip over these little holes."

"No, I don't. Although, like everyone, I wonder where they came from."

"Probably some wild durants. Anyway, mind if I walk you home?"

"If you want to, then sure. I just need to lock this door. Company protocol: only employees can use the back door." Snivy turned around to lock the door with her company-issued key.

"Are you humming something?" Blessing asked as Snivy finished with the door.

"Nope. I tend not to let music get stuck in my head."

"Me neither. Ready to go?"

"Yep. I'll lead the way."

* * *

In a small residential neighborhood three blocks away from the Llyria Academy campus, there was a two-story apartment complex. Snivy unlocked the door labeled "495" and entered. Blessing followed along. The interior was dark, only slightly lit by the little bit of sunlight that could creep in through the window. When Snivy went to turn the light on, it didn't.

"Urgh… they still haven't fixed this building's power grid…" Snivy complained.

"Still? How long has it been like this?" Blessing asked.

"Almost a week. The landlord's really lazy about these kinds of things. He hasn't even done anything about the water, either. Still nothing but cold water coming out of all the taps in the building."

"Sheesh. Then how have you been getting along like this?"

"Work keeps me out of here for eight hours every day, and eating out adds a few more hours to that. Still doesn't solve the problem of taking ice-cold showers, though."

"No offense, but it sounds like it really sucks to live here."

"It sure does. It's better than jail, though. But anywhere's better than jail."

"Then why don't you stay over at my place?"

Snivy was expecting something like this. Yet another spontaneous invitation left Blessing's mouth.

"You heard yourself just now?" Snivy asked to make sure.

"Yeah. My mom shouldn't mind."

"Well, I _did_ once work for the group that abducted you, you know. I don't think your mom would appreciate seeing me after that."

"She's not one to hold grudges. I'll explain everything to her. Come on, Snivy. You can't really live like this."

"Since you insist…"

Blessing wasn't going to change her mind, so Snivy saw no point in trying. She locked her front door and followed Blessing.

* * *

Torden was rummaging through all the dumpsters in the alley behind all the business buildings. He had his sights set on aluminum cans, which he already collected a big amount of. The bag he had with him was practically overflowing.

"Dumb potholes…" he grumbled as he got to the dumpster behind the Salary Office. He continued dragging the plastic bag behind him, unaware that the edge of one of the holes had snagged part of the bag. He finally noticed when the bag suddenly stopped moving behind him. He pulled hard on it, trying to get it loose. Soon, he thought better of it and went to the base of the bag. He then pushed it from the bottom and got it loose. It was then that he heard something. He looked around for a source of the sound. When he heard it again, he could tell that it came from the ground.

"It sounds like someone's trapped down there," Torden said to himself. He crouched down to the hole in the ground and yelled down it. "Is someone down there?!"

Torden got an answer in the form of a muffled cry he assumed was saying "YES!"

"All right. I'll get you out of there." Torden turned his tail iron and began digging into the ground with it. _"Aramir was right; this _did_ turn out to be useful."_

Torden soon ended up in a chamber underneath the Salary Office. There were small holes all over the walls and ceiling. Strangest of all, Weston was hanging from the ceiling.

"_You're_ who I was hearing before!" Torden said, approaching the struggling Pokémon. "Is that a piece of Rawst Scarf on your butt?"

Weston nodded, answering "yes."

"I'll get you down!" Torden said. He dug into the ceiling, barely being able to reach it from the ground. Once the hole he was digging got wide enough, off of the ceiling fell Weston, landing back-first onto Torden's back. "Sheesh, Weston! What happened to you?!" Torden removed the scarf that was covering the chimchar's mouth.

"Thanks, Torden!" Weston said, immensely relieved. "I thought no one would ever find me after that umbreon left me here!"

"Umbreon?" Torden asked. "By any chance, was this umbreon named Poisonpore? Because an umbreon by that name escaped from jail some time ago."

"I don't know, though that'd explain a lot. But he abducted me and created this room. He said something about training for an errand he has to run in Tradja, and he's been using me as a living training dummy. Then he left me in here and went away. He turned into a puddle of poison and climbed up one of these air vents. He also tied me up with these weird threads, which he also used to sew that Rawst Scarf over the source of my flame."

"Sheesh, what's with that Poisonpore guy?!" Torden demanded. "And judging by those threads tying you up, he definitely has a Dark Blessing."

"Wait, you mean that thing Team Static's boss had? More Pokémon have it?!"

"Weston, don't you pay attention to the news? Lots of Pokémon have been afflicted by it. Remember when Ordoxivia got attacked?"

"Oh, that's right. I hope Poisonpore won't be doing something similar to Tradja…"

* * *

Selena awakened to find that her legs were tied together by Dark Threads that tightened when she tried to struggle out of them. A large PP-Zero Bracelet was affixed to her torso, keeping her from using any of her Moves. There was also a Lum Scarf tied over her mouth, keeping her silent.

She appeared to be in a living room of some sort. There was a television set in the corner, a surround sound set connected to it, and a coffee table in the middle. She was situated on a couch facing the TV. From behind her, she heard a door open and then shut. When she turned around, no one was there. Once she settled back down, Poisonpore was suddenly sitting next to her on the couch.

"Did you sleep well, sweetie?" he asked, smiling widely.

Selena shook her head to say "no", being unable to vocally answer.

"Oh. Well, you'll be getting a nice bedroom all to yourself. I think you'll love this place. I found it on an online map before I came here to Tradja. We're still in Tradja, by the way, just somewhere secluded on its property. I can't tell you where, though, because I don't want us to be found before we get acquainted."

_"__Get acquainted? As if!"_ Selena thought angrily.

"I'm Poisonpore, by the way. I used to be part of a group called the Eon Triad. But we got caught, and Hotmouth, that jerk of a flareon, blamed it all on me. Just what I get for being associated with a Fire-type Pokémon… then, one day while I was in jail, I gained this new power of mine. You've probably heard of it. It's called the Dark Blessing."

_"__Well, that instantly explains lots about this creep."_

"Too bad I'm not the only one to have gained it. A scoundrel by the name of Hot Air also gained one, and he used it to burn down Sivik-Ripney's Department of Localization, destroying the Twilit dub of 'Riptide'. Now, for the record, I was into 'Riptide' since the days it was just a graphic novel series. Bought it from international import stores. Neera quickly became my favorite character. So when Videot launched and the show was shared with the world, my dreams of seeing her brought to life came true. And your performance as her is legendary. Which is why I've always wanted the show to get an international release, so others could see your beautiful performance. I would've supported it; the only thing I would've given genuine support to. But then, Hot Air ruined everything. Luckily, I have a Dark Blessing. I'm going to stay here a while and train with it, so that when I meet that jerk face-to-face, I can defeat him in battle and then kill him."

Selena was already feeling uncomfortable hearing her captor's tirade. The breakdown that came next terrified her.

"See, he thinks that _just because_ the Twilight Kingdom made a few changes to the show, it's instant garbage. So he felt that he had the right to take the show away from them! From ME! Well, you know what, Hot Air?! You don't! You… DO NOT… HAVE THAT RIGHT!" At that, he fired a Hyper Beam at a picture of a koffing hung up on the door. In the moment before it got demolished, Selena noticed that the word "kill" was scrawled over the picture. "And so, that's why I'm here. He took 'Riptide' away from the Twilight Kingdom. So, I'm taking it away from him by getting it cancelled."

Even though Selena was gagged, she couldn't resist responding to Poisonpore's last comment. All that came out, however, was the expected string of "Mmmff!"s. Poisonpore briefly removed the scarf to allow her to speak properly.

"And just how will you be doing that?!" she demanded.

"Holmeister Studios has a work ethic devoted to its employees. I'm sure you know that they cancel shows whenever something happens to a cast member, who they especially value. So, with you gone, and with me where you belong, 'Riptide' will end. Hot Air will lose what his life revolves around, and he'll be begging for death. And then, I'll give him his much-coveted final moment. Understand?"

"Nope. Not only that, but I don't understand why you think you'll get away with any of this. The police will find wherever this place is, I'll be rescued, and you'll be arrested. Just make it easy on yourself by releasing me now."

"I love you, Selena, but I can't do that. You will remain with me forever. Now, I gotta go downstairs to train. Since we won't be getting TV reception up here, I brought this." Poisonpore loaded a video tape of _Paths of Time_ into the VCR connected to the TV. "I know you love this movie, so I brought it up here for you. Enjoy, sweetie!"

* * *

Pelame, Mori, and Komed had all bundled themselves up with warming gear to protect themselves from the harsh Ordoxivia winter weather. As Mori was with them, the two ladies were allowed out in public per Doxivish law. Their destination for the day was the old Fortress of Wixatow, open for tourists and historians. It was closed for the day to anyone except TIGHS members, as decreed by Sultan Rajukh. The three entered the building, finding it to be colder than outside.

"So, what are we here for?" Komed asked.

"What we always do," Mori answered. "Make discoveries. These old ruins have to have something in them that no one knows about yet."

"Considering our run lately," Pelame added. "It'll be something Alpha or Demon-related."

"Perhaps," Mori said.

"I kinda hope it is, actually," Komed said. "Just once, I'd like to see that happen, just to say I co-discovered something related to all this craziness."

"Komed, don't get your hopes too high," Pelame responded. "Even if we discover something like that, there's usually a traumatizing part to it that ruins it all."

"Pelame, are you beginning to hate this job?"

"No! I love this job! It's just that all this Dark Blessing nonsense is really getting to me. I don't know how much more of it I can take."

"Relax, Pelame. You're with us. You'll be fine."

"I hope so…"

The three Researchers ascended to the second floor of the fortress. So far, nothing apart from paintings that were already in the history books.

"So far, zip," Komed summarized. "Literally all of these paintings are of Rajukh's predecessors."

"In other words, Pokémon we've heard of before," Mori added.

"Yeah, this really is turning out to be a wasted trip," Pelame added. "Want to go back to the HQ?"

"Sure. Why not?" Komed answered as Mori nodded in agreement. "It's so cold in here, Mori's butt is turning from pink to blue. His girly butt is now boy-friendly!"

"Komed, stop," Mori said, annoyed.

"What? Can't I joke around with my pals?"

"Yeah, but let's make sure we're _joking_ here."

"You saying I don't have a sense of humor?!"

"Of course not. It's just that you don't have a _good_ sense of humor."

"How so?"

"Well, for one thing, pick a more mature thing to joke about. My rear end is honestly not a good topic to joke about, you see—"

Suddenly, Pelame charged at her fellow Researchers, shoving them toward the wall. A beam-like projectile came careening toward them with a sound like a whistling firecracker, hitting the wall further down the hall and exploding on contact.

"There's only one Demon who gives off this much power…" Pelame said, terrified. She glanced down the hall and saw exactly who she feared. "Mustard…"

"Hmph…" said the skuntank. "Your father also mistook me for that wretched fool."

"You keep denying that you're Mustard," Mori said. "Are Demons all pathological liars or what?"

"No. Well, at least _I'm_ not. But I can be the death of all of you."

Mustard shot a Fire Blast at the three Researchers. Pelame blocked it with her Alpha Barrier and tossed the barrier at the fiend.

"RUN FOR IT!" Pelame ordered. The three went for the door and almost made it before Mustard caught up and blocked the way. He shot a Dark Pulse at them, hitting them directly.

"So much for civilized explorers…" Mustard taunted. "Time for you to quit interfering." His tail opened up, ready to launch another ranged explosion. Before he could launch his attack, though, an Ice Beam hit him on his tail, freezing it shut. A big wave of water then washed him away.

"Quick! Come with me!" Pinna cried, entering the fortress.

"Dad! You saved us!" Pelame said, overjoyed. She and her fellow Researchers followed Pinna out of the fortress and toward the city. They all ran as fast as they could, knowing that it would take more than a Surf attack to take Mustard down. That reminded Pinna…

"By the way, did he happen to deny being Mustard?" Pinna asked.

"Yep," Mori answered.

"Well, actually, he really is not Mustard. He's Mustard's estranged son. He blurted it out last time Valk and I fought him."

"Whoa… now I'm wondering what Pokémon lowered herself to have a kid with the jerk who started the Swadfrieg War," Komed said.

"Who knows? But the fact is that this maniac we're dealing it is definitely Mustard's son. Plus, Mustard Sr. apparently contributed to Mustard Jr.'s hatred of civilization. Where his love of wildlife came from, I have no clue. But if I were to guess, I'd say he wants civilization replaced with more wilderness."

"Well, we might find out if we encounter him again," Pelame responded. The four made it back to the city of Wixatow, entering the safety of one of the Alpha Barriers covering the buildings. But to their horror, they found that they were one short.

"Mori?!" Pelame exclaimed. "Where's Mori?!"

"…over there…" Komed answered, pointing outside. "Mustard Jr. got him."

Without another word, Pelame went for the door to go rescue her friend. Komed and Pinna followed closely behind. They were too late, though, as Mustard Jr. ran off with his captive, speeding away by using Flamethrower from his tail and using it as a rocket booster.

* * *

Captain Keldeo was underwater, weighed down by a very heavy set of iron boots on his feet and a heavy helmet on his head, keeping it on the ground. He was barely able to move, and he couldn't breathe underwater. However, being part Water-type, he had a very long lung capacity which wasn't even close to expiring. He had lots of time to escape from his predicament. Ever so slightly, he began to lift his head from the ground. At that moment, he heard an alarm reverberating throughout the underwater chamber. The room was blinking red.

_"__For the love of—"_ he thought, irritated. He used his tail to press a button on the vest he was wearing, which connected to all the heavy things he was wearing. The button caused it all to instantly unlock and fall off of the captain, allowing him to freely move again. He swam over to a large metal door and pressed the button next to it, opening it. He went into the next room, which was a small corridor about the size of a small closet. He pressed a button next to the metal door on the other side of the corridor. The door behind him shut, and a grate opened below him, draining the water out. Able to breathe again, he refilled his lungs with air. He then shook all the water off of himself. The door on the other side opened up, letting him into an elevator at the top of a small flight of stairs. He went into the elevator, which took him to a room with two big control panels and speaker phones. He pressed a button on the left panel labeled "answer".

"Who is this?!" Keldeo demanded. "You know never to interrupt me when I'm in the Tank. If this isn't the king, this at least better—"

"Captain! We need you in the dungeon!" the Pokémon on the other end of the line frantically said. "A riot just broke out, and we need you to help quell it! Your Elite Nine are on it already, along with me! But we're getting pounded here!"

"I'll be there, Cell," Keldeo answered. He hung the phone up and went toward the dungeon area of the castle.

* * *

"This is trouble…" Trailblazer responded when the events back at the Fortress were explained to him. "He already made off with Rafar and Zadebaba. Now he's got one of our own Researchers in his clutches."

"Wait, he captured both of Rajukh's children?!" Pelame asked.

"Yes, he did." A shiny arbok slithered next to Trailblazer. He was dressed in a blue robe with orange borders. On his middle section was a sash with Ordoxivia's National Seal on it. And on his head was a white and brown turban with a red jewel in the center, from which a green feather stood. Pelame bowed before the Sultan.

"It's an honor to meet you, sire," Pelame said.

"Please rise," Rajukh said. "This is no time for formality. My children are in danger, and I am going to rescue them. And as I understand it, you have a friend who ended up in his clutches."

"He does, sire."

"Then once we figure out where he's hiding, you can accompany me—"

"Trailblazer, sir! We have a special delivery!" Monater said, carrying a rectangular package. He unwrapped it, revealing a videotape. It was labeled "Note for Pelame and the Sultan." Monater loaded it into the HQ Common Room's VCR.

* * *

_Mustard Jr. backed away, putting himself in perfect focus of the video camera. He then spoke._

_"__Stop this tape if you are not an eevee named Pelame nor the Sultan of Ordoxivia."_

_He waited for fifteen seconds, and then continued._

_"__Greetings, civilized scum. I'm glad you got this delivery of mine. Now, I want you to listen closely to it, because it's very important. That is, if you care about these ones here."_

_He stepped off to the side to reveal a shiny seviper, a shiny zangoose, and Mori with PP-Zero Bracelets on them and tied up with Dark Threads. Mori and the zangoose had scarves tightly tied over their mouths, and the seviper had a cotton bag muzzling him._

_"__Come meet me in the old Forest Castle. We will negotiate there. And be here within five hours, otherwise, these three die."_

_In the background, all three of the captive Pokémon were shouting as if trying to get out a warning. Their oral restraints prevented that, though._

_"__Don't let me down now."_

_He then walked up to the camera and reached around it._

* * *

The video ended and cut to black. Since Mustard Jr. never looked away from the camera, Trailblazer was able to follow what was going on.

"The old Forest Castle, huh?" he asked. "Yep. He's definitely trying to get us killed. That castle is old, but a good portion of its traps still work. I met Ogilvie there because of a wind trap, after all."

"But we can't just leave my children there!" Rajukh said.

"And Mori, too!" Pelame added. "We have to save him, too!"

"And we will," Trailblazer answered. "But considering the location, I will be accompanying you there."

"Then I'll come along, too," Monater said. "I _am_ your bodyguard, after all."

"So, it'll be me, the Sultan, Monater, and Pelame—"

"I wanna come, too!" Komed volunteered. "I want to see that castle! Plus, Mori's _my_ friend, too!"

"Okay, so it's us five."

"Make that seven," Pinna said. "Valk and I are coming, too."

"Quite a group. I think this'll work. We'll have a big advantage of numbers in this case. Still, Mustard Jr. is powerful. We'll need to be careful. Miss Winifred!" Winifred arrived once Trailblazer summoned her. "While I'm gone, you will be in charge of the Guild. I know you'll take good care of it."

"Considering it done," Winifred answered.

"All right, everyone. Let's go rescue our friends!"

* * *

Blessing and Snivy arrived at the former's house. Blessing knocked on the door and Adorbs answered it. The lopunny was quite surprised to find her daughter had brought Snivy home with her with no notice at all.

"H-hello there, Snivy," Adorbs greeted. "How are you?"

"Fine, thank you," Snivy answered. "And how about you?"

"I'm doing fine, too. Admittedly, I'm surprised to see you here." She turned to her daughter. "Blessing, you know you're supposed to notify me if you have a guest over."

"Sorry, mom," Blessing apologized. "I would've called, but Snivy's apartment lost its power, and neither of us had change for a pay phone, so I literally couldn't call you."

"You could've used a store phone," Snivy reminded.

"Oh…right… so anyway, I invited her over here, pretty much spontaneously like I've been doing a lot recently for some reason. Can she please stay, mom?"

"Well, I suppose so," Adorbs answered. "But just for tonight."

"No problem, Blessing. Snivy, make yourself at home."

"Thanks, Miss Adorbs," Snivy said. She entered the house and went upstairs.

"Mom, I don't know what keeps coming over me when I'm near her," Blessing confided. "First, I invite her out to dinner, then I join her on her lunch break, and now, I walked her home and ended up inviting her here when I saw her terrible excuse of living quarters."

"Oh, Blessing," Adorbs said. "I know _exactly_ what's going on here. At first, I thought you were doing all of this out of pity—and by the way, I'm happy you're moving on from what Team Static did to you—but anyway, _now_ it's clear what's going on. You're in love."

"WHAT?! With Snivy?!"

"Yep. There's no other explanation."

"Hey, hey, no, no, there _can too_ be another explanation. I mean, just because I kept making these plans with her doesn't mean anything! Granted, she's kinda nice to be around, not to mention she's kinda cute, too. I've never seen eyes as beautifully blue as hers—oh Arceus in Paradise, I really _am_ in love with her."

"And that's not a bad thing at all, Blessing. In fact, I'm happy for you."

"Heh… thanks. I kinda hope Snivy didn't overhear any of this…"

* * *

The Elite Nine, Cell, Benedict, and a large majority of the Royal Guards were currently in the dungeon area, attempting to quell the riot that had broken out. None of the prisoners managed to escape, but they were giving the guards a run for their money, so to speak. Captain Keldeo bore witness to the pandemonium as soon as he arrived.

"Captain! Thank goodness!" said a cobalion.

"Well, Cell, I'm thankful you interrupted my Tank training for a _good_ reason this time," Keldeo responded. "Let's rein these scumbags in!" Keldeo then joined Cell in the fray. "So how did this happen, anyway? Have you identified a ringleader?" Keldeo then kicked a prisoner who was about to hit Cell with a brick.

"Remember those Doxivish refugees the king let in after that attack?" Cell asked rhetorically. "One of them started this riot. Him, right there!" Cell pointed at a gabite. "It's that guy, and those two panpour next to him!"

"Then they're going down!" Keldeo then sprayed lots of water out of his hooves. He was using Surf to incapacitate the other rioting prisoners. "Get them back into their cells while they're down! I'm going after the ringleaders! Walton, Hearst, Leona, Value, follow me!" Keldeo then ran after the three ringleaders while the four guards he summoned followed him. Back down in the dungeon, the other guards joined with Cell to put the prisoners back into their cells.

"The Captain is so frighteningly powerful, taking down about 100 convicts with one Surf attack," Benedict said in awe.

Meanwhile, the ones Keldeo was chasing burrowed into the underground dungeon's ceiling in an attempt to escape as his panpour flunkies followed him. Keldeo didn't go in, electing to head them off. He and the four guards went to the grounds outside the dungeon area and waited. As expected, the gabite and two panpour appeared from the ground.

"Do it," Keldeo confidently ordered. The four furfrou guards used Flash to temporarily blind the culprits. He then hit them all with Water Pulse attacks, confusing them. "You three really thought this little riot plan would work? Well, too bad." Keldeo then slapped PP-Zero Bracelets on the three criminals. "And I checked these ones. They have true inopsite in them. You won't get away."

"At least I managed to take down one of your trainees," the gabite said.

"And you'll certainly pay for that. Tie them up." The guards did so. "Put those three in solitary confinement until I get a decision from the king about what to do with them."

"Yes, sir!" Walton said. Keldeo then went to the throne room.

"Sire. The riot's been quelled," he said upon entering. "Sorry to barge in, by the way."

"Not a problem, Captain," said King Kangaskhan II. "It wouldn't be the first time someone from another nation betrayed my trust…"

"Sorry, sire. I hate it as much as you do when this kind of thing happens. So, what do you want done with the ringleaders who started the riot?"

"Well, they did critically wound your prize trainee Pugno, so, do whatever you want with them. I don't care what."

"As you wish, sire." Keldeo bowed and then left the throne room. The king sighed in stress.

"…Pocketurn, this is getting out of hand…"

* * *

Keldeo then entered the Solitary Confinement Unit of the dungeon to collect the three ringleaders.

"Well, the king made his mind up," Keldeo said confidently. "He's left your punishment entirely to me. So…" Keldeo put his hoof on the gabite's nose and shot a Hydro Pump up it. The gabite sputtered and coughed. "Oh, that's just a warm-up. You know, I don't take kindly to when a trainee of mine suffers a debilitating injury from a criminal. So, I will be executing all of you today."

The three criminals gasped in fear.

"Well, you should've thought of that before you started a riot. Come with me." Keldeo led them in chains to a room in the lowest area of the dungeon. Inside the room was a pool of water that was six meters deep. The pool had brown cement around its perimeter, and the rest of the room's ground was green. Keldeo dragged two pairs of iron shoes over to the two panpour. After strapping them onto their feet, Keldeo pressed a button on the wall.

"That's to warn the city about the impending power drop that'll be caused by what'll be killing you two," Keldeo explained. "Being Water-types, it'll take too long for the pool to kill you, so you're going straight to the disposal room. Sure has been a while since I had to use this room… In you go!" Keldeo shoved them into the pool, sinking them to the bottom. He then pulled a lever switch with a skull on it, which caused all the lights in the city to dim. And then he pushed a level that opened a big drain in the bottom of the pool, sucking the two down into it. Keldeo then shut the drain after they went down it. About a minute later, a loud buzzing sound was heard, and the lights of the castle and the city flickered. "Other jails use an electric chair for execution. _My_ jail uses an electric _room_ to dispose of the bodies, and also to execute Water-types. I've made sure it has enough watts to kill even a Ground-type Pokémon. Rock-types, too. But don't worry; you won't be electrocuted to death like your friends. That room will just be disposing of your corpse after you drown." He then switched the electric room's power off.

"Wait, Captain, can't you just give me a life sentence?!" the gabite said in panic. "I'll serve it peacefully!"

"Of course you will." Keldeo led the gabite to the end of a diving board-like platform and strapped on a pair of iron shoes his size. "Any last words?"

"I don't want to die, Captain!"

"Well, like I just said, you should've thought of that before you started a riot." Keldeo pressed a button on the side of the platform, causing it to fold down and drop the gabite into the pool. He walked over to the other side of the pool to get a better vantage point of the criminal's last moments. The gabite struggled, desperately trying to escape from his iron shoes. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't escape. Soon, his struggles became weaker. Keldeo could tell by that that the prisoner was running out of air.

"Yes… hurry up and breathe in, scoundrel…" Keldeo taunted.

Soon, the criminal's struggles stopped. This was Keldeo's cue to send the body to the electric room to be disposed of. The lights flickered once more, signaling the end of the last of the three criminals who started the riot. Keldeo switched the electric room off after one minute and shut off the warning.

"Problem solved," Keldeo said, satisfied.

* * *

"Here we are…" Trailblazer said as the traveling party consisting of himself, Pelame, Komed, Monater, Pinna, Valkyrie, and Sultan Rajukh arrived at the old Forest Castle. "Let me lead the way. I can scout for traps that way."

"Lead the way, sir," Monater said.

Trailblazer entered first as the others followed him. The first few rooms were entirely uneventful, making the uninitiated explorers think there might not be any traps after all. Their hopes of that were dashed when they reached the first basement. Trailblazer stopped and told all the others to stop just before they entered the next room.

"Just a second," Trailblazer said. He fired a Psybeam into the room in front of him, turning himself dark pink as a result of his Protean ability turning him Psychic-type for the time being. Upon contact, the door to the room suddenly slammed shut. From beyond the shut door, a heavy thud was heard.

"What was that?!" Pelame asked, afraid.

"It felt like something heavy fell in the next room," Trailblazer answered. "From how much it shook the ground, it must've made a really loud sound."

"It did," Komed added. "It's like the whole ceiling fell in the next room. So, how do we get past here now?"

"Go around, of course," Valkyrie answered in a deadpan tone.

They all backtracked, having no choice but to. While they searched for another way to reach the basement levels, they ended up in a square room with spikes on its walls.

"This is new…" Trailblazer said. "How'd Ogilvie and I miss this? Careful, everyone. Anything could happen—"

At that moment, a clicking sound was heard. The doors leading in and out of the room slammed shut, and the room rumbled. The room then began to turn clockwise to turn the walls into the new floor and ceiling. Pelame and Pinna quickly put up an Alpha Barrier above the spikes before anyone could land on them.

"Whoa… this is tough, maintaining one this huge…" Pelame said, strained from the energy she was exerting.

"Figure a way out of here before we lose our grip!" Pinna ordered.

"Well, we could always blast down the other door," Valkyrie suggested. "Here I go!" Valkyrie flew over to the other door, getting his tail ready to strike.

"Valk, don't!" Pinna warned. It was too late, though. Valk hit the door with his tail, using Earthquake. All it did was shake loose a few spikes from the ceiling. Another jolt, and they'd fall.

"Stubborn thing…" Valk grumbled. He hit the door again.

"Valk, you'll kill all of us!"

"What're you talking about—" a spike fell in front of him, cluing him in to why his plan was a bad one after all. A few of the other spikes fell from the ceiling, barely missing everyone.

"See, Valk? One more attack, and we're gonna be decorations for those spikes!"

"Well, the door's open…"

"Oh, goodness, it is!" Komed said. "What're we waiting for?"

The explorers went through the door, leaving the peril of the room. The next few rooms were luckily regular. Four basements down courtesy of a long staircase going down that many levels led them to a room that was familiar to Trailblazer.

"See that hole in the wall?" he asked. "Ogilvie's butt got blown into that wall by a wind trap. This was where I met him."

"Say, Trailblazer?" Pelame asked. "Why haven't we been devoting more time to looking for him? Isn't he your best friend?"

"Yes, he is. And that has something to do with why finding him isn't top priority. See, as friends, I'm bound by a promise he swore me to."

"What kind of promise?"

"He always admired how devoted I am to my work. And that was why he made me promise him that if anything ever happened to him, I wouldn't overly distract myself with trying to find him. He wanted me to keep on focusing on my work and the guild, saying that he doesn't want to be thought of as being more important than them."

"I see. He really is a true friend…"

"Yep. And he's right; he's very important to me, but so are many other Pokémon. My staff, my fellow Researchers, what's left of my family… that's part of why I decided to be part of this rescue mission. I know Mori's important to you, Pelame. You and him finally put your rivalry aside and became friends. You don't know how happy that made me—"

"And me, too," Komed interjected.

"—did that," Trailblazer continued, unaware of Komed's interruption. "And of course, the Sultan's children are important not just to him, but to Pocketurn himself."

"MORI!" Pelame shouted. She ran toward him, but was held back by Pinna.

"Pelame, wait!" he ordered. "Mustard Jr. could be waiting in there to snipe us! It's a trap!"

"You're right! It is!" shouted a voice they (except Trailblazer, since he couldn't hear) recognized as Mustard Jr.'s. Following his declaration was the sound of heavy gunfire. If it weren't for Pelame's perfect Alpha Barrier timing, everyone would've been filled with bullets.

"Gosh, that barrier of yours can even block Gatling gun turret bullets?!" Valk said admiringly.

"Valk, if you're saying anything to her, she can't hear you over that gun!" Pinna shouted.

"I can't move!" Pelame shouted. "He's got me pinned down!"

"In that case…" Valkyrie then burrowed into the tunnel's ceiling, hoping to get into the room they were at the entrance to. Pelame realized what a big mistake that could be once she saw Mustard Jr. carefully aim his tail. When he fired, she knew Valk made it into the room, and would unfortunately be dead once he did. Pinna acted quickly by putting an Alpha Barrier around Mustard Jr.'s tail just as he fired, making it blow up in his face. As a result, the gun was destroyed.

"Nice one, dad!" Pelame complimented.

"Well, what do you expect from a war veteran, eh?" Pinna boasted. "Mustard Jr.'s done for!"

The explorers entered the room to go rescue their friends. To Pelame's surprised, there was a fourth cage which Suicune was inside of. He was bound up and gagged much like the rest of them.

"How'd he get Suicune?" Komed asked incredulously.

"Lucky catch," Mustard Jr. boasted. "And lucky for all of you, too. Enjoy your victory for now—"

"No! You're not getting away!" Rajukh said, using Rock Tomb on the evil skuntank, trapping him. He slithered up to where he was buried and blasted it with his Hyper Beam attack. Mustard Jr. was down for the count. Pelame saw her chance to Purify the fiend. Once she got close enough to do so, Pinna suddenly tackled Pelame away, getting her out of the way of another ranged Explosion shot that would've killed her. The attack hit the ceiling and started what was soon going to be a cave-in.

"So close, but no prize!" Mustard Jr. taunted. "Have fun going down with this room!" He burrowed out of the room and escaped, much to Pelame's frustration.

"Forget it, Pelame," Pinna reassured. "Let's just spring these captives and get out of here before this place comes down on us!"

"You're right, dad," Pelame answered. Using their hardest-hitting moves, the seven explorers broke the captive Pokémon out of their cages. They had no time to ungag and unchain them, so they carried them out of the castle like that. They all managed to escape before the cave-in could crush them.

"Whew… that was an adventure, all right…" Monater said, relieved.

"Mustard Jr. got away again…" Pelame seethed. "One of these days, I'm gonna Purify him."

"Maybe next time, Pelame," Komed said. "You almost got him, though. You should be proud of that."

"I suppose…"

"Mmm… gmmmd dmmf," Mori mumbled.

"What was that, Mori?" Komed asked. "Here, let's get that junk off of all of you." They all got to work freeing the captive Pokémon.

"Ahh… thanks, everyone," Mori said. "Sure is great to be able to move again. But boy is it freezing out here."

"Take these," Pelame said, giving Mori some warm coats she packed.

"Neat! Thanks again!" Mori slipped the coats on and warmed up instantly.

"Got one for me?" the seviper asked.

"Just wrap around me, Rafar," the zangoose offered. The seviper named Rafar took that offer.

"Sure is great having a zangoose for a sister, Zadebaba," Rafar said in relief.

"Everyone, thank you for helping me save my children," Rajukh said. "I will never, ever forget this."

"No problem, sire," Trailblazer said.

"And Pelame, I hope you get Mustard Jr. someday. I know you will." Rajukh then left with his children.

"I hope to, sire…" Pelame said.

"Is something the matter?" Suicune asked Komed.

"Nothing, Mister Suicune," Komed answered. "Just wondering what you're still doing here. You're not exactly known for staying in one place for long."

"And neither are my comrades Entei and Raikou. Still, it would be rather bad-mannered of me to run off without properly thanking the ones who rescued me from the clutches of that terrorist. You all have my gratitude for my rescue."

"Our pleasure, Mister Suicune," Trailblazer responded. "If you don't mind me asking, how did he get you?"

"A sneak attack. I was visiting the nearby Towx Lake to clean out whatever little contamination was in it. As soon as I landed on the lake's shore, he struck out with those Dark Threads, as they're called, and restrained me. He even managed to nullify my power with one of those bracelets decorated with inopsite—"

"They're called PP-Zero Bracelets," Monater interjected. He was quickly shushed by Trailblazer.

"Anyway, then he dragged me into this castle along with the two Doxivish heirs, all while he boasted about how he was going to eliminate the Doxivish Royal Family. He seemed very confident that this mad plan of his would succeed, but it's good that his confidence was misplaced. Still, as he has escaped, you should all watch your step."

"We will, Mister Suicune," Trailblazer responded. "In fact, due to this turn of events, we're going to Tradja tomorrow instead of in one week's time. I hate having to do this to my guild, but I want them to be safe."

"You're right to be concerned. News of Dark Blessing-induced incidents have even reached Legendary Pokémon like me. I just never thought Mustard Jr. would've gotten so powerful from it. Judging by the last time I met him, which was when he was still a stunky growing up in the wild, it didn't seem as though that would be the case."

"Mustard Jr. grew up in the wild?" Pinna asked.

"He might've ran off to the wild at some point in his life," Pelame guessed. "Apparently he hates his father, so I wouldn't be surprised if his hatred of civilization came from his father starting the Swadfrieg War."

"I don't get that guy, or that weird power of his," Komed added.

"None of us do, Komed," Mori added.

"Oh, Suicune, before you go… can I ask you a favor?"

"Hmm? What kind of favor?" Suicune asked.

"I'd… like to get a photo of you."

Everyone was surprised at Komed's audacity. Suicune was slightly amused.

"Oh, really? Why is that?"

"I'll explain later."

"Very well then, but only one photo."

"Cool. Thanks. Just a side profile of you. Full body." Komed walked over to Suicune's side and backed off until he was in the frame of her camera. All the others backed away so as not to get in the way. "Excellent. Now, when the flash goes off, the picture will be taken. It'll just be in five seconds…" Suicune stood as he was when the photo was taken; no fancy poses, no smile, just his normal expression and posture. He did look slightly toward the camera, though. "Perfect! Thanks! That 150 Pokéns is as good as mine!"

"Ah, so money's the reason."

"Well, not exactly," Trailblazer said. "You see, I did promise my guild members a pay bonus if they could get a photo of you. To begin with, I actually wanted a better photo of you to replace the piece of junk that's currently published. Monater, the picture, please."

"What?!" Monater exclaimed. "What makes you think _I_ have it?!"

"Monater, I was born with a pair of ears that don't work. I was also born with a pair of eyes that _do_ work. And those working eyes saw you drop that photo _behind_ the trash can at our HQ, not _in_ it where it was supposed to go. So consider this your punishment for that."

"…yes, sir…" Monater took out the photo of Suicune's rear and showed it to the Pokémon himself.

"Ah… I see," Suicune answered, bemused. "Not quite as bad as what your disdainful tone of voice and choice of words implied, but this is still a rather unflattering image of me. No skin off my back, though, although I wonder what your friend here found so appealing about my hindquarters."

"N-nothing at all!" Monater stammered. "I was only holding onto the picture!"

"Well, nevertheless, the history books should now have a better photo of me, thanks to Komed here. Oh, and Pelame, is it?" He looked over at the young eevee. "I know you know this, but do beware of the Dark Blessing. As Genesis Day gets closer, so does its day of reckoning. Stay on your toes. And thanks again all of you for rescuing me. I must be going now, but rest assured that I will return the favor one way or another."

With that, Suicune was off.


	26. Off to Tradja

Chapter 26 – Off to Tradja

* * *

**"****Wise, yet counterproductive, wild one…"**

Mustard Jr. hadn't yet decided where he'd strike next. He had hunkered down in the icy forests of Ordoxivia's wilderness, pondering his latest failure. And it was during this pondering that the Dark Blessing was speaking to him once more.

**"****No closer to completing your goal than when you started, despite you being the strongest of my acquaintances as of yet."**

"Pelame's more trouble than I thought," Mustard Jr. responded. "She was dangerously close to Purifying all three of you out of me. She could've done it, too."

**"****You seem strangely confident in your enemy's abilities. Why not focus on your own?"**

"Don't you worry about me. I'll get her soon enough. I'll get them all…"

**"****Don't keep me waiting long to see that, now. My other acquaintances would be wise to act in a timely manner…"**

* * *

**"****How's Selena? Have you won her over?"**

Poisonpore began the day by going to his training room in the secret area he had himself and Selena hidden in.

"Not yet, but she'll eventually come around," he answered. "She'll wonder how she ever resisted me."

**"****Love can cloud judgement, you know. Don't forget that the biggest threat to your favorite show is still out there. And furthermore, the biggest threat to your new power is going to arrive in Tradja quite soon…"**

"Does it look like I'm worried about that? And furthermore, what makes you think I'd forget the bone I want to pick with Hot Air?"

**"****Oh, nothing. Only that you seem to be preoccupying yourself with wooing that actress you currently have no chance with."**

"I do too have a chance with her! She's meant for me, and I'm meant for her!"

**"****Certainly. But remember that you have better things to do…"**

* * *

**"****You've lost everything but your show, eh?"**

Hot Air had just finished posting an update to his site, which read:

"To anyone still loyal to Riptide,  
It seems the Internet is the only place that recognizes that I am the fan the show needs. Even here in Tradja there are backstabbers who view the Twilit version of the show as being good. They kicked me out of their official fan club because of that, and I get the feeling that Selena, who went missing earlier this week, was abducted by someone who wants the Twilit version to return from the dead. Hopefully that's true, since it'll finally get it through everyone's heads that fans of the Twilit localization of Riptide are the scum of Pocketurn, and they will do anything to discredit us real fans. So, if any more support for the Twilit localization comes up, crush it and those responsible.

-Posted by Hot Air  
Eighthmonth 16th, 1512"

**"****Ah, ****_now_**** you're getting somewhere. Rebellions exist to be destroyed, after all."**

"Indeed they do," Hot Air agreed. "'Riptide' is Tradja's and Tradja's alone. If I ever meet another Twilit version supporter, or if Haigsfeld dares to show himself here like the rumors I've heard say…"

A drop of lava dripped out of one of the vents near Hot Air's face and landed on a picture of Haigsfeld, burning it instantly.

* * *

The first thing about Tradja the TIGHS crew noticed was how much warmer it was than Ordoxivia. Being a country located on the planet's northern hemisphere had that effect in general. Of course, being in a more northern area of the country itself meant it was still rather cold in its own right, just not to the extent of the Doxivish winter.

"Everyone, I'm very sorry to have cut our trip to Ordoxivia short," Trailblazer said to his guild as they left the Hambfurt International Airport. "But barring any more Demon-type craziness, we will be staying here in Tradja for one month longer than originally planned. For the first two weeks, we will be staying here in Hamblin. So let's begin with this: who can tell me what Hamblin's significance is? Harry, how about you field this one? This is your home after all."

"That it is, and it sure is nice to be here again," Harry said. "Anyway, Hamblin is Tradja's business center, and one of the biggest cities in the world. It's the center of Tradjan economy and politics, too, even though Nuhtedam is the actual capital of this country."

"Very good answer, Harry."

"Thanks, but there's more. Kaiser Ottovon frequently visits here. So, if we're lucky, we might get to meet him."

"Ah, that's very neat! And I'm glad you mentioned the Kaiser, because that gave me an idea for another question. This one's for a non-Tradjan, though, just to test your knowledge of other countries and cultures. What is the Kaiser's species?"

"Oh, that's _too_ easy!" Pelame said gloatingly. "Mori, wanna say it with me?"

"Sure, I guess," Mori said.

"He's a pidgeot!" the two Summa Cum Laudes answered.

"Yes, he is," Trailblazer said. "Which makes him the only other World Leader who's an avian Pokémon, the other one being President Cadence of Pumbloomberg. Anyway, once we get to the HQ, let's all just relax. I think we could all use a break, huh? Now, let's get a move on!"

"Yes, sir!" the guild responded.

On the trip to the HQ, Pelame couldn't stop thinking about Suicune's warning to her.

_"'__As Genesis Day gets closer, so does its day or reckoning,'"_ she pondered. _"The Dark Blessing and Genesis Day… what will the Dark Blessing do then? Is it really going to destroy Pocketurn?"_

She did a good job of hiding her apprehensions from everyone, as no one noticed that she was deep in thought. She got her mind off of it once they arrived at the HQ.

"Business as usual, Researchers," Trailblazer declared. "Go non-fatally kill each other for the best rooms."

Pelame and Mori looked at the room nearest Trailblazer's office and shouted "DIBS!" They snatched it before anyone else could and set their things down in it.

"Remember when we used to not share whatever room we got?" Pelame asked playfully.

"Yep, and we've sure grown up since then," Mori said just as joyfully. "Want to go get some lunch?"

"Certainly! I'd love to try Tradjan food!"

* * *

Back in the Twilight Kingdom, Torden had let Weston stay with him, having gotten permission from his parents to do so until an Alpha could be tracked down to undo the Dark Threads binding him.

"Sorry to see this happened to you, Firebu—Weston," Torden said, nearly misspeaking. "I hope Poisonpore gets caught soon."

"Yeah, before Tradja suffers whatever he's planning," Weston added. "You know, what do you think the Dark Blessing's deal is, anyway? Why has it been making Pokémon so violent? Does it want something?"

"Who knows? All I know is that Pelame's basically the only one who can save Demon-types from it. Poor girl must be fighting them right and left out there, considering how long it's been since she's gotten back to me and the others. We don't blame her, though. I just hope she doesn't ever meet Hot Air, that jerk. Speaking of whom…" Torden got onto the Internet with his bedroom computer and went to Hot Air's "Riptide" fansite. When he saw the newest update, he was instantly furious. "Why you miserable little—"

"What is it, Torden?"

"I can't even… just look at this…"

"Uhh… Torden? I'm tied up. I can't turn around."

"Oh. Right." Torden went over to his bed where Weston was laying on and picked him up, carrying him to his computer chair. "No offense, but it's a good thing your butt flame is covered up. I'd lose a valuable computer chair otherwise."

"Torden, you know my flame doesn't just burn whatever it touches."

"Just joking. Jeez… Anyway, read this garbage."

Weston did so and got an idea of what made Torden so upset.

"He hates others _that_ much over a TV show?" he asked incredulously.

"Yep," Torden answered. "This is low. Something has to be done about this. Weston, ever see a professional hacker at work?"

"Torden, you don't mean you're gonna…!"

"He deserves it at this point. Watch a pro at work…"

* * *

"You okay, Pelame?" Mori asked, noticing that his friend hadn't touched her food. He knew it couldn't be because she didn't prefer it, as he'd seen her try out other countries' food, yet somehow the Blitzle Berry Burger special was proving to be an exception.

"YEAH!" she responded, startled. "*pant* Sorry. I'm just… I was just thinking about something."

"What about? Mind cluing me in?"

"Well, remember when Suicune was rescued yesterday? Before leaving, he told me that Genesis Day would be the Dark Blessing's 'day of reckoning'. I have a bad feeling that I know exactly what he means by that. But regardless, that only gives me less than four months to defeat the Dark Blessing once and for all."

"Pelame, you've been doing great against it so far," Mori reassured. "I wouldn't worry about it being around by the next Genesis Day."

"Mori, I wish I could be as optimistic about you when it comes to this. But honestly, I'm getting really frightened about this. The Demons we've been facing have all been stronger than the last, even to the point where they can escape just when I have the chance to Purify them. They might even get strong enough to resist being Purified altogether, and then it'd win for real! All could be lost!"

"Pelame, just don't think about the worst-case scenario. Look at it this way: the Dark Blessing originated from the Immortal Realm, right?"

"Yeah."

"And so did your Alpha Power. Alphas get stronger just like Demons—"

"Hey, you're right! Genesis Day could be a day of reckoning for Alphas, too! Mori, you're a genius!" Pelame's melancholy mood was brightening up.

"Eh, not as much as you, Pelame. And besides, I've seen firsthand how powerful you are. Look how many times you've saved my life only within the last few weeks. And don't think for a moment that you're alone in your battle; TIGHS is helping you, your dad's helping you by fighting other Demons overseas, your friends back at home. And me, too. Pelame, I want you to know that as your friend, I will follow you into any battle you get into. Okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Mori. You really are a true friend." Pelame's stomach growled as she finished speaking. "Heh heh… I guess I'd better have my lunch now."

"I was just about to ask if you were gonna eat that Sitrus 64-ouncer."

* * *

Keldeo went to the castle's hospital wing to visit Pugno, who had sustained a slight cranial fracture from the riot that occurred the day before. It only took the one day for him to fully recover, and the Captain would place him back on his spot in the Royal Guard.

"You sure you're feeling okay, Pugno?" Keldeo asked.

"Of course, sir," Pugno answered. "It'll take more than an Iron Head to the head to neutralize me. Did everything go okay after I blacked out?"

"Yep. The riot got quelled, I executed the perpetrators who started it, and I just got done screening the refugees. Turns out that those three that started the riot were the only ones who harbored ill will against the Twilight Kingdom. Good thing, too, because any others would've been sent back to Ordoxivia."

"I presume the execution was why the power nearly went out yesterday?"

"Indeed. The Electric Room uses up about 75% of the city's power when frying a criminal's corpse."

"Whoa…"

"Truly guilty criminals are not to be pitied. I'm sure you agree with me and the rest of the Royal Guard that Pocketurn would be a true paradise without the likes of them."

"I do, sir."

"And Pugno, let me assure you that I don't blame you for this accident. From what I heard from Benedict, you were holding out very impressively before the ringleader got you with that cheapest of cheap shots. So, I'd like to reward you for that with a 300 Pokén bonus for the month, and a very special privilege. You ever heard of 'The Tank'?"

"Yeah. Benedict mentioned it once and said nothing more about it."

"All right then. You will be finding out exactly what it is. Can you walk?"

"Of course, sir!" Pugno got up out of his hospital bed and removed the bandages from his head.

"All right. Follow me."

Keldeo led Pugno to the dungeon area of the castle's grounds. Instead of entering its front door and entering the dungeon proper, he went to the left, heading toward a patch of barbed wire disguised as bushes.

"This is to make for a painful landing for those stupid enough to climb over the wall," Keldeo explained. "Our destination is a little further ahead." A few more meters west of the dungeon area was where the Captain stopped. This particular area was very out-of-the-way of the rest of the grounds, as well as out of the sight of many of the other areas. He stood on a certain spot of the grass growing on the grounds and sprayed a Hydro Pump out of his front right hoof. Instead of spraying around under it like it physically should have, it seemed to disappear into the ground. Pugno heard something that sounded like a mechanism coming from underground. It sounded like a heavy door was cranking open. And indeed, the ground opened up in front of Keldeo and Pugno.

"Just down these stairs…" Keldeo led Pugno down into the cavern below. On the way down, Keldeo flipped a switch that shut the door behind them. They then entered a room. Keldeo turned the lights on, revealing the room to be a big arena. "This is the Sparring Room. This is the only area of my private training quarters that I would regularly allow others into. It's just for when I want to go one-on-one with another guard or any of the other officials here at the castle. And not to brag, but I've defeated every opponent I've ever brought down here. Except His Royal Highness himself, of course. The _real_ fun of these grounds begins beyond this door here. Get ready to see where the name 'The Tank' comes from. And also, commit everything you are about to see to memory."

"Okay. But how come?"

"Simple. Because after I show you The Tank, _you will not be allowed in there. Ever. Again._ Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then follow me."

He led Pugno over to the door at the corner of the room. They both went inside, entering a small corridor with another door at the end. He went up to it and placed his eye to a scanner. After that, he placed his left hoof on another scanner. And finally, he went to another panel and spoke into it, saying, "This is Captain Keldeo, requesting entry for Tank training." The door opened in response. He then added, "This is Pugno, a guest I have invited." He turned back to Pugno and told him, "That's to keep the panel from shooting you with a tranquilizer dart."

"You _really_ don't want anyone down here, huh?" Pugno asked jokingly.

"Why, where'd you get _that_ impression?"

The two soldiers went through the door, entering an elevator that took them down into a very large room. The left and right walls were made of glass, revealing that the rooms beyond them had water in them. In front of them were control panels. Keldeo took Pugno over to one of them.

"This is it, Pugno," he announced proudly. "The Tank. And yes, even though there's two, I like the singular name better. As for why there are two, that's because one's freshwater and the other's saltwater. Believe it or not, there are quite a few differences between the two that go beyond just being fresh or salty. But ask a marine biologist about that; I'm a soldier. What this control panel does is… well… I'll just show you." He started with a wheel colored red and blue. "This is for the tank's temperature. It goes as high as 70°C and as low as 5°C. This goes for both tanks, and it's just to add a special challenge to my training. Speaking of which…" He pressed a button labeled "B&amp;G".

"What's 'B&amp;G' stand for?" Pugno asked.

"This room is technically part of The Tank, too, so some of its controls affect this very room as well. That button I just pressed starts the exercise where I escape being bound and gagged. That's what 'B&amp;G' stands for, by the way."

"Should've known."

"No offense, but yeah, you should've. Now watch this. And time me, too." Keldeo went over to where a pair of robotic arms holding ropes and a Cheri Scarf extended from the ground. Once it recognized that he was standing there, the arms tied his legs together and tied the scarf over his mouth, tightening it so he couldn't speak. It then tripped him and tied his tail to his back. It finished by putting a PP-Zero Bracelet on his back right leg. Once the arms retracted, he began struggling in his bindings. It would be harder without his tail to help, but he relished the challenge. As he struggled, the ropes gradually weakened and loosened barely enough for him to use to his advantage. He pushed his legs as outward as he could make them go, and then he was able to slip his right front leg out, which caused the ropes binding his legs to fall off and allow him to stand again. With his legs free, he just had to reach behind his head to undo the scarf gagging him. It was even easier to untie the rope tying his tail to his back. And finally, he bit down on the PP-Zero Bracelet, breaking the inopsite in it. As a result, he regained the use of his Moves, and one carefully-aimed Hydro Pump broke it off. "Done! How'd I do?"

"Four minutes," Pugno said, awed.

"Oh, for goodness… am I never going to do faster than 3:43?! Urgh… well, anyway, here's a little pro tip for you: break the inopsite in a PP-Zero Bracelet, and you're able to fight again. I can't believe I never noticed that the ones Mustard Jr. put on me were faulty."

"Huh? Mustard Jr.?"

"Pinna and Valkyrie gave me more intel about him. Turns out that skuntank that escaped from here was actually not the one who started the Swadfrieg War. It's his estranged son."

"Wow. Now I'm wondering who was stupid enough to be the mother."

"Me too, Pugno. Me too. And speaking of the Swadfrieg War, that was why I had The Tank built; to simulate a lot of the experiences I went through when I was captured. Not the least of which was the time they tossed me into Sinking Forest and left me to drown. Heh… that was when I found out that my lung capacity is 30 hours. Now then, observe." Keldeo entered a door next to the elevator they came in from. It was another elevator that took him up to the room above the watery room. A blast door shut behind him as he went down a small flight of stairs. Another blast door shut behind him when he entered a small room with a grated floor. He pressed the button on the other blast door, shutting the grates on the floor. Big holes opened on the ceiling, letting water flow in. Keldeo took a deep breath just as the room completely flooded. Then the other blast door opened. He swam into it and looked over at Pugno, waving at him. Just then, the alarm sounded. Keldeo made for as quick an exit as he could to respond to it. Once he reached the speakerphone, he answered it while making it clear how irritated he was. "What now?!"

"Sir! There's something on the news right now that you have to see!" Hearst said. "You have a TV down there?"

"Yes," Keldeo responded. "I'll switch it on now. And it better blow my mind for your sake." He ended the call and turned to Pugno. "After we see whatever's got Hearst in a fuss, the tour's over. But you've seen basically everything. Well, actually, _that_ door there is a private bathroom I had put here since I spend so much time down here. Because, hey, I'm not going to use the tanks as my bathroom, now am I?"

"I'd hope not," Pugno answered as Keldeo switched the TV on.

* * *

Hosting Snivy for the night wasn't enough for Blessing. She found herself walking her crush to work this day. Despite all this sudden nice treatment, she wasn't letting on how she felt about Snivy. Not to her face, anyway. She knew this could change at any time, though.

"Well, Blessing," Snivy said. "Thanks for your hospitality."

"No problem, Snivy," Blessing responded. "I hope you have a nice day today."

"I will. See you—"

"What are _you_ doing here?" asked a lilligant. "Didn't you read the note I mailed you?"

"What note?" Snivy asked. "I wasn't at my place last night. You sent me a note?"

"Yes I did. And if you'd read it, you'd know that you wasted your time coming here."

"How come?"

"You didn't pass the grace period, Snivy. You're laid off."

"…oh. I see…"

"Laid off?!" Blessing demanded. "What possible reason could you have for laying Snivy off?!"

"Blessing, let's just go—"

"Just a sec, Snivy."

"She wasn't up to par with what we need here."

"And what _is_ it you need here, huh?! Salary offices are an obsolete business, you know, and _this_ fine young lady could've kept this omastar of a business afloat for at least another three years! Her skills with managing money are _that_ good! Not only that, but goodness is she a joy to be around! You could not have had a more pleasant and amazing Pokémon working here! So, basically, you'd best overturn that layoff!"

"It's very nice you feel that way about Snivy, but she just isn't what I'm looking for in an employee. And you're not changing my mind."

"…fine. But I hope one day you realize what a huge mistake you made. And when you do, you are going to feel like the biggest idiot on Pocketurn. Good day to you." Blessing then angrily stormed off.

"Sorry about that," Snivy said. "Thanks for the opportunity I had."

"It's fine," the lilligant said. "And good luck with your future endeavors."

Snivy then caught up with Blessing. "What exactly was _that_ all about, eh?"

"Your boss is an idiot! That's what!" Blessing responded, still fuming. "Firing you for basically no reason better than that old 'oh, I found someone who looks like they're better at this job than you, so hit the road!' nonsense! I mean, it'd be like if Torden got hired at that car repair shop, and then laid off for that exact reason; getting rid of a truly skilled employee like what just happened to you… it just—ack…"

"It's okay, Blessing. I'll just find another job—"

"That's right you will! And I'm going to help you!"

"Well, that won't entirely be necessary—"

"Where should we look first? We can rule Llyria out, and same with Pathway. Tour Season ended there for the year, so no point in trying there. Plus, you know, Operation Moonstone probably got you and the other Team Static guys banned from there… sorry to bring that up, by the way."

"I was thinking the Ville Du Soleil Couchant. Lots of jobs are always available there."

"Then let's go there! It's on me."

"Blessing, not that I don't appreciate all this, but why are you doing this? Why are you being so nice to me and wanting to help me at every turn so suddenly?"

Blessing was put on the spot. But at the same time, she was relieved that she was at last given the chance to say what had been on her mind for a while.

"Okay, Snivy, I'll level with you. I don't really know how it happened, but I… well, I… I… *sigh* I'm in love with you."

Snivy shut her eyes and smiled. "Heh… wow… By all rights, I ought to have caught on to that sooner. Eh, maybe I knew that already deep down."

"It doesn't bother you, does it?"

"Not at all. Don't you remember that I was there when you told your friends—and also my former co-admins except for Paras—that you prefer women? The only surprise is that it's _me_ of all the ladies of Pocketurn that your heart is beating for. But, you know, it's kinda sweet, to be honest. Plus, you sticking up for me back there at the Salary Office was one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me. So, thanks."

"No problem. It's only natural to defend loved ones."

"That it is. That's how I felt about my Team Static co-admins, too. Anyway, so how are we gonna get to the Ville Du Soleil Couchant?"

"Well, Torden's going there pretty soon to case the joint, as they say, for his upcoming trip there to some kind of convention he's going to. I forget the name of it, but he's been itching to go there. So, if he's so inclined, we can ride with him there and then take public transportation back."

"Sounds good to me. When's he leave?"

"I'll call him right now and ask him."

* * *

"You done ruining that Hot Air guy's life?" Weston asked in disappointment, having witnessed the entirety of Torden's grandiose DDoS attack.

"Weston, that's impossible," Torden answered. "He has a life outside of 'Riptide'. If only he could find it…"

"Still, that was really low of you to do. Sure, he was out of line pinning Selena's disappearance on a fan of the show's Twilit dub, but why not let a bunch of angry fans flame him for it? Why destroy his whole website?"

"Did you miss the part where he literally said that anyone who likes the Twilit dub of the show should be killed? Some Pokémon are crazy enough to actually listen to that! I intercepted a call to arms!"

"How do you know if anyone really would've listened?!"

"You don't know what fandom life is like, Weston. It can get ugly."

"Yeah… I can tell. I just saw you live up to that ugliness."

"Well, at least I didn't reveal his address to the whole world. I totally could've, you know."

"Like that makes the situation any better."

"Just forget it. I'm just gonna see if any Alphas took up that ad I posted."

As Torden went to his Twang Table profile to check his post for any responses, his house's phone rang. Downstairs, Henry picked it up.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hello, Professor Henry," Blessing greeted on the other line.

"Hi there, Blessing! The semester hasn't started yet, so there's no need to call me 'Professor' yet. Anyway, how are you?"

"Doing great. But I do need a favor which only Torden can fulfill. May I speak to him?"

"Certainly. I'll put him on." He went upstairs to his adopted son's room, carrying the wireless landline phone with him. "Torden, Blessing's on the phone for you." He handed the phone over and left the room.

"Hey, Blessing," Torden said into the phone. "You kinda caught me at a bad time here. I'm getting ready to go to the Ville Du Soleil Couchant in about fifteen minutes to meet up with a—"

"Well, that's perfect, Torden!" Blessing said happily. "I need to go there, too! And so does a new friend of mine! Think we can ride there with you?"

"Yeah, I suppose. Just as long as you can get here soon."

"Torden, I only live about a block away from you. See you soon."

"See you soon, Blessing." Both Pokémon hung up. "Well, Weston, looks like we'll be a travelling party of four."

"That's fine with me," Weston replied. "I'm just happy I'm finally gonna get these threads off of me. They're really chafing my wrists and legs."

"Well, I'm gonna go get the car packed and ready. I'll come get you when I'm done. You want to rest on my bed until then?"

"Sure. This chair's giving me a bit of a saddlesore."

"Should've asked for a pillow." Torden carried Weston over to his bed and set him down on it. He then went downstairs to pack everything he'd need for his trip: money, food, road maps, directions to his destinations… "Note to self: jot down the directions that Alpha gave when I go back upstairs." He was now ready. All he had to do was get Weston into the car. Then he could be off. He did so, started the car, and opened the garage door. That was when he saw Blessing and, to his surprise and shock, Snivy, who were both standing on the sidewalk in front of the walkway up to the house. He backed out, stopping just as the car's back tires reached the street. Blessing and Snivy went up to the car and opened the back door. "Hold it," Torden said. "What's Snivy doing here?"

"Jail sentence expiration," Snivy answered. "Got a problem with that?"

"Well, I'm just not all that excited to see you again, and especially with a good friend of mine."

"Torden, Team Static doesn't exist anymore," Blessing interjected. "You know that!"

"Yeah, I do. But she was still as rotten as the rest of them when that Team was still around. What is she needing to go to the Capital for, anyway? Or is it _your_ errand and she's coming along?"

"She's looking for a job there, and I'm helping her look. And depending on the job market there, we're strapped for time. Can't you just give her a chance?"

"…I guess so. Get in."

"Thanks, Torden." Blessing let Snivy in ahead of her, closing the door after she herself got in. Torden then backed out all the way, put his car in "drive" gear, and was off, waving goodbye to his parents on the porch as he drove off.

"So, what is this you're going to the Capital for, Torden?" Snivy asked.

"Two reasons, actually," Torden began. "First off, the International Television Convention is happing there on the second weekend of Ninthmonth, so I'm getting a ticket early and scoping the city out for a good place to stay while I'm there. It goes on for four days, which would be the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh days. That's a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and a Monday—"

"We know, Torden," Blessing interrupted impatiently.

"Anyway, I'm looking for a good place to stay those four days. But the other reason I'm going to the Capital is for Weston. You can't see it since I have his torso under a blanket, but he got abducted by a Demon-type umbreon probably named Poisonpore and left—"

"Wait, did you say 'Poisonpore'?!" Snivy asked in shock.

"Yeah."

"He escaped from prison a while back, and he ditched his fellow eeveelutions pals when he did."

"And he said he was going to do something in Tradja," Weston explained. "After that, he left me underground, which was where Torden found me. We're on our way to meet an Alpha who said he'd undo the threads tying me up."

"I see," Blessing answered. "You gonna be able to manage for six hours? It's gonna be that long a drive."

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Any radio stations you like, Weston?" Torden asked.

"Just put the news on. We could hear something about Poisonpore."

"Good idea." Torden switched the car's radio on and tuned it into the local news station, which had just got done with their sponsorship plugs.

"This just in from Tradja," said a newscaster. "A hiking trip turned very weird for a pair of intrepid mountain climbers who took a trip to Tradja's Northern Mountain Range. Wattkins is live with them now."

"Yep, I'm here with the climbers now," Wattkins said. "So, what happened up there exactly?"

* * *

This same broadcast was also airing on television, which was what Captain Keldeo was currently watching. Over in Tradja, the members of TIGHS were watching as well. The closed captioning function was switched on so that Trailblazer could follow along.

"It was the strangest thing ever," answered the machop being interviewed. "For the first few meters, everything was going fine. Then suddenly, my pal and I couldn't find the way back down. Staircases kept appearing and warping us further up, wild Pokémon were attacking us, and we kept stepping on metal plates that activated weird stuff every time."

"We couldn't even reach the peak," the makuhita next to the machop added. "We ended up getting ambushed, and when we were knocked out, we ended up at the foot of the mountain. Everything we brought with us disappeared, too."

The broadcast cut back to a male eevee in a newsroom. "Officials are advising all Pokémon in Tradja to stay away from the Northern Mountain Range in light of this event. In other news, 'Riptide' actress Selena has still not been located since she was reported missing earlier this week. Police are still searching for her, and Holmeister Studios had put 'Riptide' on indefinite hiatus until she is found. We now go to Quincy for the weather."

"Thanks—"

The TV was shut off at that moment. Trailblazer addressed his guild.

"Well, Researchers, we can all scratch the Northern Mountain Range off of the places to go for Research Trips," Trailblazer stated. "I just hope more Mystery Dungeons won't be popping up. Yes, Pelame, what is it?"

"I completely forgot to tell you this, but Mori and I were in a Mystery Dungeon back in Shizazoto!" Pelame announced, shocking everyone. "That cave he and I escaped from was a Mystery Dungeon!"

"Well, I'll be… but still, stay away from the mountains to the north. From the sound of that news report, it's a downright ferocious one like the ones from old times. But anywhere else is good to go. So, let's Research! And as usual, look out for Demons!"

"Yes, sir!" responded the guild members.

* * *

That afternoon, Haigsfeld arrived in Hamblin and made his way to Holmeister Studios. After confirming his appointment with the producers of "Riptide", he settled down in his hotel room five blocks away. As he did that, he heard someone.

_"__Can anyone hear me?!"_ the voice said frantically. Haigsfeld looked around, despite there being no one else around. He then heard the voice again. _"Is anyone there?! I need help!"_ Haigsfeld could hear it only in his mind. Being a psyduck, he had a faint ability for Psychic power. He could only respond to telepathy.

_"__Who is this?"_ he asked with his mind.

_"__Oh, thank goodness I reached someone!"_ the voice said in relief. _"My name is Selena, and I've—"_

_"__Selena?! As in, the umbreon actress who plays Neera on 'Riptide'?"_

_"__Yes. Who am I speaking to?"_

_"__I'm Haigsfeld, head of Sivik-Ripney's Foreign Localization Department. I'm here in Tradja to ask for more copies of 'Riptide' episodes to be dubbed. The ones that were already done got burned down along with my office."_

_"__Oh. I'm very sorry to hear about that. But anyway, please listen, as I don't have much time. I've been abducted by an insane fan of mine. He's holding me captive in the Northern Mountain Range. At least, judging by the climate and the footage from the surveillance system he set up, that's where I think I am. Please hurry and let the authorities know! I don't know how much longer I can stand being in this creep's captivity! Hurr—"_

Selena's telepathy was suddenly cut off. Haigsfeld reached into his briefcase and pulled out a cellular phone, calling the police to inform them about Selena's whereabouts. Just before he could, though, he was tackled by an angry koffing.

"Found you at last, you murderer of 'Riptide'…"


	27. Mysteries of Northern Tradja

Chapter 27 – Mysteries of Northern Tradja

* * *

"This one won't slip off of you," Poisonpore said to Selena as he fastened a big PP-Zero Bracelet to her torso. "Shouldn't have even bothered with the one for your legs." Along with the Dark Threads tying her legs together, this was an uncomfortable squeeze. "There you go. Hope I didn't make it too tight. Don't wanna ruin that perfect body of yours." He then gazed into her eyes. "Ahh… I wish I had yellow eyes like you do. These red peepers of mine make me look so so evil. It gives me a bad impression. Although, you can look past that and see me for the perfect match I am, right?"

Selena was still gagged, so she shook her head to answer "no."

"In time, you will. Time heals all things. How about we watch past episodes of 'Riptide', eh? I got all the ones you starred in right here!" He got out film reels with episode codes on them.

"Dmmmd ymm ftlmmm vmmmmzm fmmm—"

"Pardon me?" Poisonpore loosened the scarf over Selena's mouth.

"Did you steal those from the studio?!" she demanded.

"Of course. There's no home video release that has most of these episodes out yet. Now, let's watch." He re-tightened the scarf to silence the umbreon of his affection and set up the TV to play the episodes.

* * *

"Doing research in somewhere modern ought to be fun," Pelame said with optimism as she, Harry, and Mori explored the city.

"Kinda surprised you picked Holmeister Studios to research at," Harry said. "Considering that you don't like 'Riptide', and the show's made there."

"Well, you know Holmeister Studios has more to offer than that," Mori added. "Not to mention we could inquire about Selena and maybe help find her."

"That's true," Harry responded. "Pelame, you'd probably do good not to let on about how you feel about 'Riptide'. Even though I'm fine with it, you might not find many others who are."

"Not everyone needs to think alike," Pelame added.

"Yep. Too bad we live in a world where lots of Pokémon don't appreciate that."

"But there's always a chance they can learn. After all, Paras of Team Static thought no one should ever evolve, but he learned his lesson."

"You taught him that, remember?" Mori asked.

"Yep."

"And the Dark Blessing undoubtedly eggs on—"

At that moment, the three Researchers heard glass breaking as well as the sound of something they assumed was a booster rocket. Pelame flinched in slight pain.

"It's a Demon-type!" she said, standing back up straight. "It's coming from over there!"

"The Fünfstern Inn?" Harry asked about the direction Pelame was pointing. Pelame ran off in that direction, with her two fellow Researchers following closely behind her.

* * *

"Who are you, anyway?!" Haigsfeld demanded, dodging another flamethrower.

"'Riptide''s savior, that's who!" Hot Air answered. "You had no right doing what you did to it!"

"What are you talking about?! All I was doing was making it accessible to the Twilight Kingdom!"

"It wasn't meant to leave Tradja, and especially not to end up in _your_ hands!" Hot Air went in for another Tackle attack. He ended up colliding with an Alpha Barrier. "Der hölle…?!"

Pelame encased Hot Air inside the Alpha Barrier and attached it to an Alpha Cord, which she used to drag the angry koffing toward herself. She let down the barrier and placed her paws on the top of his head, readying her ultimate move.

"Das HÖLLE?!"

"Dark Blessing, trouble this Pokémon no more," Pelame declared to the evil energy within Hot Air's soul. "And you, misuse this power no more." The evil energy was then banished from the angry fanatic.

"DIE HÖLLE?!" Hot Air demanded. "Who are you, and what did you just do to me?"

"I'm Pelame," Pelame introduced. "And I just banished that Dark Blessing out of you. How do you feel?"

"Well, at least it'll be quieter in my mind from now on. I was getting tired of that thing constantly nagging me. But now I've lost my only way to defend 'Riptide' from this hack over here, so thanks for that!"

"Rescuing 'Riptide'?" Harry asked. "How is attacking this psyduck 'rescuing 'Riptide'?'"

"Oh, this is no ordinary psyduck. This guy's a monster."

"I can introduce myself, thank you very much. My name is Haigsfeld," Haigsfeld introduced. "I'm the head of Sivik-Ripney's Foreign Localization Department. It got burned down by a crazy fanatic I heard someone say was named 'Hot Air'."

"Well, you had it coming!"

"Ah, then in that case, _you_ had the loss of your website coming."

"Beg your pardon?"

"On my way here to Tradja, I reached out to someone named Torden to DDoS your website."

"You WHAT?! _HE_ WHAT?!" Pelame yelled. She grabbed Haigsfeld's cell phone and dialed Torden's phone number, remembering to dial the Twilight Kingdom's international code. It was a bit difficult to do as Haigsfeld's cell phone was made for Pokémon with hands.

"Whoa, hey, that's gonna add a giant charge to my cell phone bill!" Haigsfeld complained.

"Shut up!" Pelame snapped, irritated. After three waiting tones, there was the sound of picking up on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Professor Henry," Pelame greeted.

"'Professor' Henry?" Henry responded. "Pelame, the new semester hasn't started yet. Moreover, you graduated. Just call me Henry."

"Fair enough. Anyway, is Torden there? There's something important I need to ask him."

"He's not here. He's on his way to the Ville du Soleil Couchant. I don't think he's arrived yet. I'll give you his cell phone number."

"Okay, thanks." Pelame hung up once she received the number and wrote it down. She then called the number.

"You've reached Torden," Torden greeted on the other end. "Who is—"

"Torden, what were you thinking?!" Pelame demanded.

"Well, long time no see to you too, Pelame. To what do I owe this scolding?"

"Oh, how about hacking someone's entire website at the behest of an unethical business figure?!"

"What? Run that by me again."

"Hacking Hot Air's website because Haigsfeld told you to! Why would you do such a thing?!"

"Haigsfeld? You mean the boss of Sivik-Ripney's Foreign Localization Department?"

"Yes! Him! You followed his order and hacked someone's website!"

"What are you talking about? Haigsfeld never ordered me to do anything."

"Come again?" Haigsfeld asked, overhearing the conversation. He took the phone from in front of Pelame and put it to his ear. "Torden, what do you mean I never asked you to do anything? Didn't you get my email?"

"Haigsfeld? Am I really talking to Haigsfeld?"

"Yes, you are—"

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you for bringing 'Riptide' over to the Twilight Kingdom! You're amazing!"

"Heh, thanks. Anyway, if you didn't get my email…" at this point, Haigsfeld activated the speakerphone function on his phone. "…then why did you hack Hot Air's website?"

"Isn't it obvious? I have it out for the guy. He posted a call to arms against all fans of your dub of 'Riptide', so I intercepted it. It ended up taking the whole site with it, but that's what I intended, anyway. Not to mention he's such a poor sport. He banned me just for pointing out that the original Tradjan staff of 'Riptide' like your dub of it—"

"Ah, so you're 'ironlightning', eh?" Hot Air interrupted.

"Yep. Sure felt good to stick it to you, to be honest. Be happy I didn't reveal your address even though I found it. So, Haigsfeld, you wanted me to take that jerk's site down?"

"Certainly. I lost my office thanks to him. Luckily, I didn't lose my job, though. But how did you miss my email?"

"When'd you send it?"

"Yesterday afternoon."

"Oh, that explains everything. I check my email only once a day, and that's when I get up at 10:00 every morning."

"I see. Well, I'll still pay you for the trouble."

"Oh, don't bother. This one's on the house."

"I can't believe you're so proud of yourselves!" Pelame scolded. "All of you! Torden, Haigsfeld, Hot Air, are you three kidding me?!"

"Well, Pelame, excuse me for sticking up for my fellow fans and defending them from a possible fandom civil war! Did I mention he also blamed Selena's abduction on the fans of the Twilit dub?!"

"Well, you can't prove it _wasn't_ one, now can you?!" Hot Air demanded.

Before the argument could go on any more, Pelame pressed the "end call" button.

"Hmph… just like a Twilit dub fan," Hot Air scoffed.

"See what I mean about 'Riptide' fans being crazy for the most part?" Harry whispered to Mori.

"All right, why is 'Riptide' such a big deal to you?" Pelame asked. "It's just a TV show! Do you really think Pokémon are worth killing over that!"

"Just a TV show, you say?" Hot Air said accusingly. "Have you even seen it?"

"Yes, and I didn't like it."

"Then watch the original Tradjan version—"

"I've seen _both_ versions, and neither of them were any good."

"I think you'd best explain yourself." Hot Air advanced on Pelame as he demanded a reason from her. Harry and Mori flanked her in response.

"Just so you know, I'm a fellow fan of 'Riptide'," Harry said. "I showed it to Pelame here, both versions, and found out that day how much she didn't like it."

"And how can you tolerate that, huh?"

"Easy. Because she's a good friend of mine. I don't need her to think the same way as I do."

"Having once been rivals with her," Mori added. "I can attest to friendships and work—or in your case, fandom—relationships having disagreements and even arguments in them. But that doesn't mean I need her to be something she's not. So she's not a fan of 'Riptide". So what?"

"Well, there has to be a reason for her irrational thoughts on it. Let's hear it already!" Hot Air demanded again.

"I don't like pirates," Pelame explained. "Simple as that. I think pirates are really, really annoying. Not to mention it's always the same treasure hunt story; it's just so generic. I'm not saying they can't be role models, but I'm saying I just don't like them. And really, Hot Air, why does it matter to you? And moreover, what exactly offended you about the Twilit dub?"

"You said you saw it, so you know."

"No, actually, I don't. Remember; our minds are different."

"Yeah, mine works properly. That's how I was able to see what a mistake it was to have a new soundtrack, change cider into wine, give accents to characters that didn't have them, the list goes on. And if Haigsfeld had been allowed to localize any more episodes, things would've gotten worse. Not that _you'd_ know, being a mindless hater of it. In fact, I think you'd be happy to know that Selena's disappearance could possibly get the show canceled."

"No, as a matter of fact, that does _not_ make me happy. Sure, I hate 'Riptide', but I know many others like it, such as my friend Harry. And even you. I wouldn't want anyone to lose something precious to them. For goodness' sake, didn't you see me get on Torden's case for collapsing your site? And as for Selena, even though she works on the show, I'd like her to continue doing what she likes doing for a living."

"Well, aren't _you_ a little PSA?"

"That reminds me," Haigsfeld interjected. "Selena telepathically contacted me earlier today."

"Come again?" Pelame said.

"She told me she was in the Northern Mountain Range of Tradja, in the clutches of a crazy fan of hers. I was just about to call the police to let them know about this information, but then this gas ball here attacked me. And then you three came in through the window and rescued me—thanks, by the way, although I wasn't in much danger—and now here we are."

"Of all Pokémon for her to reach out to, why you?" Hot Air said with envy.

"She knows a reasonable Pokémon when she talks to one. Anyway, I have a meeting to get to in about ten minutes, so I'll have to make the call quick."

"We can do it," Pelame offered. "Just get to your meeting. And also…" Pelame snatched Hot Air with an Alpha Cord. "We'll keep this guy away from you and your belongings."

"Thanks." Haigsfeld then left for his meeting with the Holmeister Studios execs.

"Let me make the call," Hot Air said. "After all, unlike _you_, _I'm_ a fan of 'Riptide'."

"Here," Pelame said, giving the phone to Harry. "You're the only rational fan of the show here."

"I think we should _all_ participate in this call," Harry said, to everyone's agreement. He dialed the Tradjan emergency number.

* * *

It had been two hours since the call was made, so an expedition into the mountains was underway. Three snover officers had decided to brave the mountains.

"Hee hee hee! Look at that rescue crew trying to get up here!" Poisonpore said gloatingly as he watched the surveillance monitor of his impromptu hideout. "They really think they can reach us, huh?" He nudged Selena as he mocked the situation. Selena could only sigh in annoyance through her nose. "Sure helps to be near a Mystery Dungeon, eh Selena?"

Selena simply growled at him from behind the scarf silencing her.

"Watch this, honey." Poisonpore pressed a switch on his surveillance console. Outside, a dart was shot out of a gun turret on the side of the mountain and struck a rescue crew officer snover and knocked him unconscious. Once the tranquilizer finished knocking the officer out, he vanished from the mountain and reappeared at the base, still unconscious. Poisonpore pressed the switch two more times, knocking out the other two snover officers. "I'm such a crack-shot at this!"

* * *

"You gonna undo that cord soon or what?" Hot Air asked. "You've kept me on it for the past two hours."

"Well, how do we know that you're not going to go attack Haigsfeld again if I release you?" Pelame asked to answer the question.

"I still fail to see why you're sticking up for him, considering he's gaining the resources to kill 'Riptide' with as we speak—oh wait, never mind. You don't like 'Riptide', so this doesn't matter to you."

"Well, the show itself doesn't, but those working on it do."

"Hey, speaking of that, I wonder if Selena's been rescued yet?" Harry asked.

"Well, this restaurant has the news on constantly," Hot Air interjected. "Why don't we pay closer attention to it?"

So the three Researchers and their guest did so. After about ten minutes of money reports and weather forecasts, finally a bit of interesting news came up.

"This just in," said the male eevee newscaster. "A rescue crew attempted to climb the Northern Mountain Range in search of 'Riptide' actress Selena, who had been reported to be held hostage there by an unidentified culprit. Their efforts ended in failure, however. We go live now to Wattkins, who is now speaking to the officers."

"Thanks, Rudolph," Wattkins said once the news footage cut to him. "So, these three snover had attempted to brave the mountain. So, can you tell us what happened in there?"

"Well," began one of the officers. "We kept in mind the reports about these mountains undergoing strange phenomena. Mystery Dungeons, we've heard them be called by the historically savvy. But even then, we were caught off guard. Something shot us and when we woke up, we were back at the base of the mountain. Apparently the same happened to the other crews that preceded us."

"Did you happen to be able to track down the missing actress?"

"Unfortunately, no. Whoever carried her up there evidently is powerful to have gotten through this Mystery Dungeon."

The newsreel cut back to Rudolph. Once it moved on to the next segment, the three Researchers and Hot Air quit paying attention to it.

"Sheesh, what's going on here, huh?" Hot Air demanded.

"Remember that Dark Blessing Pelame purified out of you?" Mori answered. "Well, she and I are theorizing that the Dark Blessing has something to do with that Mystery Dungeon. Whoever abducted Selena could very well be a Demon-type."

"See, the Dark Blessing gives power and a new type to whoever it possesses," Pelame explained. "But it seems as though it can't possess anyone unless they agree to it. That's just a guess, though, since every Demon-type I've encountered so far reveled in the evil power they had. Plus, I was told by an ex-Demon-type about how the Dark Blessing controls others."

"From my experience, it kept egging on my feelings about 'Riptide'," Hot Air said.

"Exactly. It can't forcefully control its victims. It guides them with charisma."

"I see. In that case, it's a wonder that it never reached out to Haigsfeld. He's dumb enough to fall for it."

"Speaking of Haigsfeld, I think we should go talk to him. Out of all of us, he has the most information about Selena's whereabouts. He couldn't tell us most of it before he went to his meeting—"

"Wait, are you serious? What do you want _his_ help for?!"

"Pelame literally just said why," Mori answered. "He _was_ the one Selena telepathically contacted, after all."

"…I hate to admit it, but you've got a point there. Fine, let's just get it over with…"

* * *

Haigsfeld returned to his hotel room with his stock of "Riptide" episodes, and the signed deal that future episodes would be sent over to his office in the Twilight Kingdom. To his surprise, Hot Air was waiting there with Pelame, Mori, and Harry.

"Oh, hello there," he greeted. "Did you contact the police?"

"Yep, but they couldn't get the job done," Harry answered. "Apparently the culprit who whisked Selena up those mountains set up tranquilizer guns in that Mystery Dungeon."

"We saw it on the news," Mori added. "They said they woke up at the foot of the mountains. Historical accounts by Mystery Dungeon explorers say that losing consciousness in those places gets you sent back outside of it."

"Not only that, but anything you bring with you gets confiscated if you faint," Pelame added. "Those rescue officers must've not realized they lost anything they brought with them."

"Of course, because _you_ prioritized a business meeting over the safety of another Pokémon," Hot Air chastised. "We ended up giving possibly incomplete information to them. Namely, _which_ of the mountains of the northern range Selena contacted you from."

"Well, how could she let me know that if even _she_ doesn't know which mountain she's being held in?!" Haigsfeld said defensively.

"We came here to ask you more about your conversation with Selena," Pelame said gently to calm Haigsfeld down. "Did she tell you anything else, like what the culprit's hideout looked like, or the culprit in general?"

"Well, she only described the culprit as being an insane fan of hers. But Hot Air is right here with us, so we can rule him out. As for the location, all she mentioned was that it was in the Northern Mountain Range. She also mentioned a surveillance system, which means the culprit has a computer of some kind."

"You know… that gives me an idea…" Pelame said. "May I borrow your phone again?"

"You going to make another international call?"

"Sorry, but I need to."

"*sigh* very well, then. But try not to take too long on the line. International calls are expensive, you know."

"Oh, like you can't afford it!" Hot Air prodded.

Pelame dialed Torden's cell phone number. _"This is gonna sound so ironic to him…"_ Pelame thought to herself.

"Hey there, you got Torden," Torden greeted.

"Uh, hi Torden," Pelame began. "Look, this is really important; are you near a computer right now?"

"Yep. I just arrived at a hotel in the Twilit capital. Just setting up for our stay here. You see, Weston got attacked by a Demon-type umbreon who supposedly goes by the name 'Poisonpore', who he said was off to Tradja. By the way, if you're in Tradja right now, beware of that guy. Also, Blessing and Snivy are here, too, in search of a new job for the latter. And we're looking for an Alpha to undo the threads keeping Weston tied up."

"Why not go see my mother? She's an Alpha, too."

"You know, that's a good idea. Wish I'd thought of it earlier. So, what do you need a computer for?"

"Well, we need you to pinpoint where Selena is. She used telepathy to contact Haigsfeld earlier, and she mentioned something about her abductor having a surveillance system."

"Oh, so _now_ hacking's a good thing, eh?"

"Uh… *sigh* yeah, I guess so… Sorry for yelling at you earlier. Besides, you'll be helping save your show."

"Well, that's an inspiring thought. Yeah, okay, I'll give it a shot. Just give me a general location."

"The Northern Mountain Ranges of Tradja."

"All righty then. It's gonna take me a while, so I'll just call you back when I get into the system. See you then."

"Okay, Torden. Thanks."

Both Pokémon hung up.

"All right. We just have to wait until he calls back."

"But you didn't give him a number to call back!" Hot Air scolded.

"Oh, he knows to call the TIGHS hotline to reach me."

"TIGHS?" Haigsfeld said in shock. "You work for Trailblazer?"

"Yep, and so do my pals here."

"Ooh, then we'd better let him know about all this. If anyone can put a good plan together, it's him."

* * *

"Blessing, Snivy, what time's the interview?" Torden asked as he started his portable computer.

"Tomorrow," Snivy answered. "3:00PM exactly."

"Okay then. I need a small favor, actually. Can you go to the Sing Inn in the district near the castle and bring Weston with you? Pelame's mother works there, and she's an Alpha."

"What about the one who responded to your help ad?"

"Eh, I trust her more."

"Fair enough… but why not come with us?" Blessing asked.

"I just got off the phone with Pelame. She's in Tradja now, and she's trying to rescue Selena from some nutcase who abducted her. And I'm helping out by revealing the location of the culprit's hideout, using my hacking prowess, of course."

"Good to see you're using that talent for something helpful this time," Weston added.

"Yeah yeah yeah… anyway, it'll take me a while to do, being as Tradja's Northern Mountain Range is rather huge, which means it likely has a huge surface of computers there."

"You mean 'surplus', right?" Blessing asked.

"Yeah. Anyway, you can take my car if you want. Which one of you can drive?"

"Both of us, but Snivy has a license. I've only got a learner's permit."

"Then leave the driving to me," Snivy said. "All right then. We'll be back soon."

"See you later. And be careful out there," Torden said as the two ladies left with Weston in tow. They took his keys on their way out. Snivy climbed into the driver's seat, taking care to adjust the seat height so she could see out the windshield.

"Don't you feel like you're the size of a joltiks in this thing?" she asked.

"A little bit," Blessing answered as she sat in the passenger's seat after placing Weston in the back seat. "I just hope no one gets to thinking we abducted Weston, 'cause it sure looks like we are."

"I can tell them if anyone asks," Weston offered. "We'll be fine."

Snivy started the car and drove off to the Sing Inn.

* * *

In thirty minutes' time, Torden got the information Pelame needed. The TIGHS HQ's phone rang and Winifred picked it up. Pelame, Mori, Harry, Hot Air, and Haigsfeld were all expecting this call, and now their patience had paid off.

"Hello? This is Winifred of TIGHS. How may I help you?" she greeted.

"Is Pelame there?" Torden asked.

"Yes, she is. I'll put the phone on speaker. She's here with a group." Winifred pressed the "speaker" button on the phone console.

"Pelame, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," Pelame answered.

"Cool. It took me a lot shorter than I thought it would, but I've got some good info. Turns out there were only three computer systems with Internet connections in the Northern Mountains. And I've found the one you're looking for."

"Well, don't keep us waiting, ironlightning," Hot Air said impatiently. "Where's it at?"

"The northwestern side. If any of you are near a computer right now, type in this IP Address into any map website you can find." Torden read the number out loud. Harry typed it into Trailblazer's computer, which was currently running Twang Pocketurn.

"All right, I've put it in," Harry said. "Sheesh, it's practically on the northwestern edge of the continent…"

"How do you know you got into the one you're looking for?" Hot Air asked. "You sure it's the right one?!"

"Well, I don't think those other two computers would have things in its hard drive like about a million pictures of Selena, love letters to her, snippets of 'Riptide' episode that all focus on her, and a to-do list that has 'kill Hot Air' on it. Oh, and speaking of this to-do list, I also see 'buy 'Attract' video' written on it, and next to it is written down '*video store re-opening on Eighthmonth 17th. Go at 12:00PM and train with the video'."

"Ah, so he'll be leaving his hideout tomorrow, then," Mori said.

"And judging by footage I've found from his surveillance system, the culprit appears to be an umbreon. So it seems like it was Poisonpore after all."

"I see…" Pelame said, intimidated.

"Well, that's all I could find."

"Thanks, Torden. This'll be enough."

"Glad I could help. See you later, Pelame."

Both Pokémon hung up. Trailblazer had been following along as best he could with what was going on, although there were some details he missed due to having so many lips to read at once. Once Winifred filled him in, he weighed in on the issue.

"Well, if we're to get there by 12:00PM tomorrow, we'll have to leave for those mountains in about an hour. No public transportation routes go directly there, so we can take my van there. Good thing I keep a TIGHS van here, huh?"

"Just like the genius I went to college with," Haigsfeld said admiringly of Trailblazer.

"Good old times… anyway, then once we get there, we can use his absence from the mountains to infiltrate his little impromptu love nest."

"But wait a second," Pelame said. "Poisonpore is really powerful. We're gonna need a plan if we're to beat him just in case he comes back sooner."

"Yep, I considered that, too. And come to think of it, as he's a Demon-type, you'll need to Purify him regardless. Otherwise, he could just abduct Selena again. But his power could be rather formidable. Demon-types are rapidly gaining strength the closer we get to Genesis Day, after all. And if this Poisonpore guy is especially passionate, then he'll make for a fearsome foe."

"And that's why I propose we beat him not with strength, but with brains. But this plan's gonna require me making physical contact with him. So here's what I propose: we use his love of Selena against him."

"How so?" Haigsfeld inquired.

"Easy. I'll dress myself up as Selena, take her place once we rescue her, and then Purify him once he goes in to kiss me."

"Uh, are you forgetting the part where he's gonna be coming back knowing how to use Attract?" Hot Air interjected. "Your little plan won't work if you're kissing him for real."

"We'll just pick up a Mental Herb on the way, and I'll eat it before we start climbing the mountain. It gives immunity to attraction for three hours, after all."

"Ah, good thinking, for a 'Riptide' hater."

"Well, Hot Air, what're _you_ coming up with?" Haigsfeld said.

"All right, then, looks like we have a plan," Trailblazer said. "Who's all going, by the way besides Pelame and myself?"

"Me!" said Hot Air, Mori, Harry, and Hot Air.

"Quite a traveling party. All right. So, when you're all ready, we'll get going."

It would only be ten minutes until they were all ready to go. They all climbed into the van and were off.

"Hey, why don't we make a stop somewhere?" Harry suggested. Since Trailblazer was driving, Haigsfeld (who was in the passenger seat) had to inform him of what was just said to him.

"Where at?" Trailblazer asked.

"I'll give Haigsfeld the directions."

* * *

It took about an hour to reach the Sing Inn, as the Ville du Soleil Couchant was indeed a gigantic city. No navigational error contributed to this, but it was still a relief to have arrived. Snivy and Blessing got out of the car and brought Weston with them. Neve looked very pleased to see an old friend of her daughter's.

"It sure has been a while, Blessing!" she greeted. "How've you been?"

"Just marvelous!" Blessing answered. "I have a girlfriend now."

"Yep, I went from ex-Team Static admin to unexpected winner of Blessing's heart," Snivy said.

"I'd heard you and the other Team Static members were on the mend lately. Good to see that, honestly."

"Thanks. And I gotta say, I'm happy to have such a good friend in Blessing here. But anyway, we need a favor of you. See, the Dark Blessing keeps gaining more victims, as I'm sure you know. And one attacked a friend of ours and left him bound up."

"Ah. I was wondering why you have a tied-up chimchar with you. Why didn't you untie him yourselves?"

"We can't untie Dark Threads. Only Alphas can do that. That's why we came to you."

"Actually, some other Alpha here offered to do it, but we decided to come to you instead," Blessing added.

"Other Alpha? Besides Pugno, there's no other Alpha in the city," Neve said. She approached Weston and undid the threads binding him. The threads disintegrated before her power, freeing his hands and feet, and also uncovering his flame.

"Whoo… goodness, does this feel great!" Weston said happily, walking around. "Thanks so much!"

"No problem at all."

"What was that you said about no other Alphas, though?" Snivy asked.

"Well, lately, there's been tell of a con artist pretending to be an Alpha. Supposedly he lures victims into a Mystery Dungeon, knocks them out, and steals everything they brought with them."

"Then it's a really good thing we came to you instead," Blessing said. "That'd make a good case for Captain Keldeo to get on, actually."

"That it would."

"And what of Mystery Dungeons? Didn't those disappear from Pocketurn long ago?"

* * *

"That's what we thought, too."

Upon Harry's suggestion, Trailblazer had stopped at the Recreational Center of Hamb Park to check if a "Riptide" Fan Club meeting was going on, and luckily, there was. While explaining the situation to the members, inevitably the subject of Selena's location came up. Luckily, that was all that needed to be said, as discussion went right back to the plan.

"Well, to be honest," said the club's krookodile president. "We were told you'd come here. So I assembled the club together to give you a helping hand."

"Someone told you?" Pelame asked. "Who?"

"Someone calling himself 'Iron Lightning'. Of course, he didn't tell us exactly what your plan was."

"Well, he wasn't on the phone when we formulated it."

"Still, it's very ingenious. In fact, we'd like to help you. We can help get you all up there, if you'll have us."

"Well, there's lots of you," Trailblazer said. "My van only holds fifteen Pokémon in it, and there's already six, including myself. So only nine of you can come along. Depending on size, of course. So, I'll decide based on one factor: the first nine to get in get to accompany us."

Many of the club's members rushed for the open door of the van, accidentally sweeping Pelame and Mori up and crushing them into the car with them.

"*oof!* Someone's on my tail!" Pelame shouted, slightly muffled from having her face pressed against the window of the closed door on the other side.

"Someone's tugging on my head leaf!" Mori complained. "Ouch! Stop that!"

"Okay, it looks like we have a traveling party," Trailblazer announced, keeping track of how many got into the car. He blocked the open door, and then turned to the ones who got in and asked, "And what are your names now?"

"Tod!" said the patrat.

"Castor!" said the houndoom.

"Blanche!" said the blitzle.

"Robinson!" said the snubbull.

"Buoy!" said the marill.

"Pokey!" said the quilladin.

"Jay!" said the bidoof.

"Rudolph!" said the krookodile.

"Okay, we're all set, then!" Trailblazer said. "Considering the sizes of some of you, it looks like only you eight can fit."

The other fans who couldn't fit were disappointed in not being able to come along. But they all wished their fellow fans luck.

"Good luck, you guys!" they said.

"Thanks!" Rudolph responded as Trailblazer started the van up. "We'll be back with Selena in tow!"

Trailblazer then pulled out of the parking lot and started on the way to the north.

* * *

"Where in the world is he?!" impatiently wondered a simisear with an Alpha Sigil on his lips. He looked through the binoculars located on the windowsill of the room he waited in. He saw a yellow sedan with a chimchar in the back seat. "Two-timer!" he yelled. He noticed the car pull into a drive-thru and decided to make his move. He set the binoculars down and ran as fast as he could to the fast food stop the car went into. He went down one block of it and hunkered down behind a street sign. When the car stopped at the intersection, he jumped out in front of the car and used Yawn to put everyone inside to sleep. He then got behind the wheel of the car and drove back to his impromptu hideout.

* * *

The large rescue crew had been on the road for quite a while, and the riding conditions, while they'd been adjusted, were still very uncomfortable. Everyone had slept in these awful conditions for that amount of time. The next morning, they woke up and stopped for breakfast and to fill the van with more gas. When they were on the way again, a conversation was started.

"So, you're Haigsfeld," Castor said. "Iron Lightning said you'd be coming along."

"Ooh, are we trashing the Twilit dub?" Hot Air asked. "Because I'm up for that."

"No. I like to think of it as 'fairly criticizing'. Very differently from what you'd do, I'm sure. Anyway, Mr. Haigsfeld, I'd be lying if I said I liked your version of the show. Still, I can't be mad at you for helping get' Riptide' more exposure. So, what all is entailed in localizing the show? I mean, Pocketurn in general speaks one language, so why change anything?"

"Well… Castor, was it?"

"Yep, I'm Castor."

"Just making sure. Anyway, you're right; Pocketurn does speak one language nowadays. However, we don't all speak one dialect of it, so that's one thing that must be changed. Also, different cultures still exist, thankfully. And no, I will never _ever_ remove Tradjan culture from the show. I made that mistake with 'Denkidako City Council', which I'm really ashamed of doing. But even still, some cultural things will have to be changed. That was why I'd had the cider changed to wine."

"You know, Mr. Haigsfeld," Rudolph said. "That edit was how I learned about Twilit cider being non-alcoholic. I agree with you that that was a necessary edit."

"Thanks. And I will promise you all that any edit I make will only be the necessary ones like that. That is, things that Twilit culture finds offensive, dialectical discrepancies, et cetera et cetera. I did actually take a business vacation here when Holmeister Studios was getting the license negotiations ready. I was honestly in disbelief that they'd trust me with the license after 'Denkidako City Council', but I was determined not to mess it up this time, especially considering how beloved 'Riptide' is. And believe me when I say that I'm just as much a fan as you guys are."

"That's so neat! I'll make you an honorary member of our club."

"Oh, sure, make 'Riptide''s murderer a member and not me, its savior," Hot Air grumbled. "Why not go ahead and make this 'Riptide'-hating broad here a member, too?"

"Ever wonder why we kicked you out of the club?" Robinson asked. "Because of that elitist attitude of yours."

"Well, excuse me for thinking of myself as better than a business guy who had my site hacked!"

"Well, you deserve—wait, what?"

"Yeah, that's right. Iron Lightning hacked my site on Haigsfeld's request!"

"No he didn't!" Harry interjected. "Torden—that's Iron Lightning's real name, by the way—hacked your site on his own accord! He didn't even know Haigsfeld emailed him!"

"Well, that doesn't change the fact that Haigsfeld still ordered a web attack on me. You feel like taking back his membership, Rudolph?"

"Nope," Rudolph answered. "I mean, okay, Haigsfeld ought to be ashamed of himself for making that request. But really, Hot Air; are you much better for declaring fandom war on Twilit dub fans? Iron Lightning—that is, Torden—told me that that was why he hacked your site. Honestly, out of all three parties involved, no one was right. But I'm giving Haigsfeld another chance."

"Thanks," Haigsfeld said. "And Hot Air, I'm sorry for what I had done to your site."

"Apology not accepted," Hot Air answered curtly.

"Besides," Rudolph continued. "It's not like you can't just re-make your site. And really, Robinson's right to say you're elitist. Look at how you're treating Pelame only because she doesn't like the show."

"It's nice that 'Riptide' has as many fans as it does," Pokey added. "So what if someone isn't one? As much as I love it, as well as the franchise, it is just a franchise. The world doesn't revolve around it."

"And besides," Mori added. "Even if Pelame was a fan, she'd still be focusing on the really important things, like the Dark Blessing. I mean, for goodness' sake, _you_, Hot Air, were one of its pawns!"

_"__Well, that explains the lava he dripped on the stage,"_ Rudolph thought.

"By the way, what _is_ the Dark Blessing?" Buoy asked. "I've heard the news mention it many times."

"*sigh* I was afraid someone was going to ask that question…" Pelame said. "And unfortunately, as time goes on and its power grows, more and more, I struggle to find a good way to answer that question. The only things I can say about it is that it gives a power boost and a new type to its victims, guides their actions through charisma—"

"And nags you endlessly as a result," Hot Air interjected. "Seriously, getting that new type and power boost wasn't worth getting nagged at like it was my mother."

"—and I've been told that Genesis Day will be its 'day of reckoning'. And as I've heard it voice a desire for total annihilation, I'm thinking Genesis Day is the day it'll happen if nothing is done about it."

"So, you're telling me it was making me a pawn in its apocalypse scheme?!"

"Basically, and you took it hook, line, and sinker. Same with the creep we're going to rescue Selena from."

"Well, I hope you can beat that terrible thing," Rudolph said.

Soon, they all arrived in the northern Tradjan town of Velland at 12:00PM as estimated. Only Trailblazer was awake by that time, and he still had tons of energy. Everyone got out of the car and got their supplies together.

"Okay, everyone," Trailblazer said. "The rescue mission begins now. But we must all be careful here. Even if this mountain wasn't a Mystery Dungeon, it'd still be a treacherous place. In fact, Pelame, Mori, Harry, I should've confessed this long ago, but… you see… these mountains are where I lost Ogilvie…"

"…I see," Pelame responded sadly. "Maybe we'll find him here, too."

"Probably. Anyway, let's get going!"

The crew approached the mountain.

"Now, remember, everyone," Pelame announced. "This mountain is a Mystery Dungeon. There's no telling what it'll do to repel us, so be ready for anything."

"All right," everyone responded.

"Hey, what's this?" Haigsfeld asked, picking up a piece of paper. "'Remember to re-engage traps.'"

"Oh?" Mori asked. "So he set up obstacles, huh?"

"Maybe, but it sounds like he forgot to turn them on when he left for town."

"Oh, I hope so."

A climb up the mountain told them that Poisonpore had indeed forgotten to activate all the traps he set up. In fact, the mountain behaved like a normal mountain. Best of all, the cabin wasn't even on the peak, so the climb wasn't even that dangerous.

"Well, Poisonpore's officially an idiot," Hot Air said. "Kinda wondering why we even brought these stragglers along."

"They can still help," Pelame said. "Keep watch. I'm going in. Well, after Mori dresses me up."

"Uh, just a sec, guys," Harry said. He then used his big ears to burrow underground and enter the house that way. All he found inside was a toilet. He then went back outside. "Hot Air, you may want to rescind that comment, because this is just a suspiciously huge outhouse."

"Well, that's useless," Blanche said. "Good thing we already had a bathroom break earlier., huh?"

"I guess he put this here either for himself to use," Mori said. "Or as a trick. In any case, we've got more mountain to climb."

"Hey, are these stairs?" Rudolph asked. As soon as he asked that, everyone was suddenly teleported a bit further up the mountain. Everyone was gathered together.

"Whoa, what?!" Tod exclaimed. "What just happened?!"

"Yep, we're in a Mystery Dungeon now…" Pelame sighed. "No going back until we either reach the peak or we faint. Or worse, we die."

"Hmph. No Mystery Dungeon's gonna stop us!" Mori announced. "And look. Stairs, conveniently right here." Stepping on them teleported them one more section up. The next three sections went exactly the same way. The lucky pattern soon stopped, though.

"Wow, false sense of security much?" Hot Air asked.

"Careful, everyone," Trailblazer warned. "I see icicles on that bluff above us."

"And whoo boy does that look like a long way down," Castor added, looking down a cliff. "I hope we find the stairs soon."

The stairs were just past a small icy hill that took a bit of muscle to climb. The next section was much safer than the cliffside area they were just at. Trailblazer suddenly stopped everyone from turning the next corner.

"Wait here," he ordered. "I just noticed something that looked like a gun turret." He sidled up against the mountain wall and peeked around the corner. "Good. It's just turned away from here." Taking advantage of the orbiting gun turret's turned back, he quickly attacked with a Charge Beam, destroying the gun and turning himself yellow in the process.

"Oh, you're Protean?" Jay asked, noticing Trailblazer change colors. Trailblazer didn't respond.

"All clear, everyone!" Trailblazer said. The party followed behind him as they found the next staircase. "Looks like we're near the top. Should be one more set of stairs to find. We're nearly there, everyone."

"You know, are Poisonpore's traps defective?" Hot Air asked. "Or are we just good explorers?"

"Maybe both," Pelame answered. "Or maybe some of these aren't automatic traps. Those gun turrets on the walls haven't fired once."

"Oh, speaking of which…" Harry said as he destroyed them all with a Mud Shot. "Problem solved."

"And there's the stairs," Rudolph said. "Wow, this was easier than I thought it would be."

Reaching the stairs brought the large crew to the mountain's peak. From there, the town below could be seen, as could most of Tradja's northern side. And on the other side was…

"Whoa, neat!" Pelame said. "I'm getting a picture of that!" She took out her camera and took a picture of the amazing sight she was witnessing.

"Hey, that's right!" Harry said. "The North Pole is visible from these mountains!"

"It sure is beautiful… I wonder if Poisonpore tried using this to seduce Selena."

"Speaking of that, here's his hideout," Haigsfeld said, pointing to a small cabin east of their current perspective. They all approached it and got out all the makeup they picked up on the trip.

"Okay, dress me up," Pelame requested. The only Pokémon nearby with fingered hands were Mori, Trailblazer, Haigsfeld, and Harry (whose ears were prehensile), so they got to work dressing Pelame up. Black paint was applied, blue rings were glued, small black platform shoes were put on to increase her height to that of an actual umbreon, and yellow contact lenses were applied to her eyes to turn them yellow. "Ugh… those are so uncomfortable on my eyes…" she briefly complained.

"Well, you need to look the part, right?" Hot Air asked. "I'd say you do."

"Perfect. I just need that black thread spool now." She received it. "All right. Stand guard while I free Selena, and guard her once she meets up with you all out here. Once Poisonpore puts the moves on me, he'll be a Demon-type no more."

"Good luck, Pelame," Mori, Harry, and Trailblazer said. Pelame then drank the Mental Herb mixture and went inside the cabin.

The interior was much bigger on the inside than the outside, likely due to the basement being dug out of the ground. It was a large rumpus room with a television set in the corner, a surround sound set connected to it, and a coffee table in the middle. In front of the TV were strewn cases of Sivik-Ripney films and some reels with 'Riptide' episode names on them. Pelame instantly concluded that those were stolen masters. There were three doors other than the one she came in through. She checked one of them, finding that it was just a bathroom. The next one she checked was a room with a bed and a gigantic control panel with an even bigger monitor showing multiple screens of what was going on outside. A few of them also showed indoors, too. She was repulsed to find that the bathroom was one of the rooms shown on the display, as was a bedroom with Selena in the bed.

_"__Oh, Poisonpore is gonna be in a world of pain for this,"_ she thought. She noticed there was another door labeled "training room". She left the room and went into the only remaining door. Inside was a big bed, large enough for two umbreons. On the bed was Selena, who was tied up, gagged, and asleep. Pelame quietly shut the door and got up onto the bed, gently nudging Selena awake. When the actress awoke, she let out a muffled squeal of surprise.

"Shh… don't worry," she whispered. "I'm here to rescue you."

Selena's eyes widened in surprise, and then relaxed into a look of great relief. Pelame then tried to undo the Lum Scarf that kept Selena's mouth shut, but it wouldn't cooperate.

"Urgh… he hhure hhighed hhiss hhing on hhighthy," she said through her teeth. It was clear it wouldn't budge, so Pelame let go. "Sorry. I can't get that off you. But maybe one of my friends outside can."

"Mmmff mmkmm," Selena reassured.

"But I can get _those_ off of you, though." Pelame went over to Selena's legs and used her Alpha Power to disintegrate the Dark Threads binding her. "And as for that PP-Zero Bracelet on your body, this might hurt a bit, but I'm gonna break it off of you."

"Gmm mmhmmm."

Pelame carefully aimed her Iron Tail at the PP-Zero Bracelet and broke it in one strike. Although it didn't get knocked off of Selena, the inopsite was broken, rendering the bracelet a useless decoration. Selena was then able to use her Moves again, and she began by using Psychic to undo the scarf that had kept her silent for such a long time, as well as the duct tape that had been applied under there.

"Ahh… it's so good to be able to speak again," Selena said in relief. "He put that tape on my mouth just before he left. Ironic, considering how much he fussed about 'keeping me beautiful.'"

"Well, you won't need to worry about him for much longer," Pelame said. "I've got a plan to apprehend Poisonpore, and it's why I dressed myself up as you. Me and my friends caught wind of a plan of his that involved using Attract on you."

"So _that's_ why he's in town right now. And I could tell you're in disguise."

"Yep, and so I devised this plan to use his love for you against him. I drank a Mental Herb mixture just before I came in here, so his Attract won't work on me. See, I'm taking your place in here and I'm going to pretend his Attract worked. So when he goes in to kiss me, that's when I'll Purify that Dark Blessing out of him."

"You can do that—wait a moment… you wouldn't happen to be an Alpha, would you?"

"Yep. I'm Pelame. Sorry I forgot to introduce myself earlier."

"Oh, no, it's fine. But are you sure you want to go through with this? You don't know how creepy this Poisonpore guy can be."

"Yeah, I am a bit afraid of him coming onto me… but I'm gonna have to face that if I hope to stand a chance to Purify him. I'm not gonna be able to do it by battling him. He's too strong."

"I see. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Only one thing. Tie me up and gag me in just the way you were bound."

"But what about this Bracelet on me?"

"Don't worry about that. I brought a decoy right here." She pulled it out of her bag. "Just strap that onto me, and tie me with this thread. It's as close a copy to Dark Threads as I could find, but it should do."

"It will. Poisonpore's not very smart." Selena got to work tying Pelame up and putting the fake PP-Zero Bracelet on her body. "This is very noble of you to do, but I wish you wouldn't."

"Don't worry about me, Selena. Tighter, please." Selena tightened the threads. Pelame struggled against them for a bit to test them. "Perfect. Really uncomfortable, but it's part of the plan. Now, after you gag me, go outside and wait with my friends. Okay?"

"Okay. And thanks again. And good luck." Selena used her Psychic power to put tape over Pelame's mouth, and then tied the Lum Scarf over it. She nodded to Selena to let her know that she was ready. Selena left the cabin to join up with Pelame's travel companions. She hid with them for the next hour. At that time, Poisonpore returned with knowledge of his new technique. He wasted no time going into Selena's room and testing it out.

"I'm back, sweetie!" he announced. "And look what I can do!" He created a heart of energy and sent it in Pelame's direction, scoring a direct hit. "No more resisting me, your destiny." He advanced on Pelame, still unaware. He got very uncomfortable close to her face and whispered to it. "I thought of you every moment I trained this technique. Of the happy life you and I will spend here forever, no 'Riptide', no Hot Air, no worries, no disturbances. Just you and me, basking in bliss…"

_"__Yes, keep flirting with me, pervert…"_ Pelame thought as she bore witness to Poisonpore's forwardness.

"I can already feel your love of me growing… all along, I've viewed you as the perfect Pokémon you are. Those eyes of yours… that head on your shoulders…" he placed his paw on Pelame's forehead and ran it down the side of her face to her shoulders. "…those perfectly toned legs… that back…" he then buried his face in her back and took a big sniff. It took every bit of her strength to resist making the appropriately disgusted reaction she desperately wanted to make as her back was just smelled. "…oh, and those hindquarters of yours…"

_"__You had _better not_!"_ Pelame internally shouted.

"I only wish I'd had a body as perfect as yours…" He placed his paws on Pelame's rear and ran it down both of her back legs.

_"__Okay, then. That's one Iron Tail to the face once I Purify you, just for that!"_

"And finally, the best part of you: your beautiful tail…" He then grabbed it and wrapped it around his head, wearing it like a bonnet. "You are an Immortal in Pokémon form, my darling! No way can I compete with a body like yours! But let's try anyway." Finally, the moment Pelame was waiting for had arrived. Poisonpore puckered his lips and came in for a kiss. He removed the scarf and tape from Pelame's mouth and planted a big kiss on her lips. She was disgusted and felt like vomiting once he did so, especially when she felt his tongue enter her mouth. Pelame took her chance and used her Alpha Power. Poisonpore finally noticed something was amiss, but it was too late. Their souls made contact, and Pelame found the Dark Blessing that tainted his soul.

"Away with you!" she ordered to the retreating dark mass. Poisonpore quickly broke the kiss once the Purifying was done.

"What the—Selena, when did you become an Alpha?!" Poisonpore asked, shocked and betrayed.

"Selena?" Pelame taunted. "I think you've got me confused with someone else." She then created an Alpha Cord and tied Poisonpore up with it. She then used it to undo her own bindings. After that, she went into the bathroom and turned on the shower to wash off the black paint. She removed the rest of her impromptu makeup and returned to the bedroom as herself.

"Hey, aren't you that gullible lady I swindled back in the Twilight Kingdom?!" Poisonpore asked.

"Yep. I'm Pelame," Pelame introduced triumphantly. "And it looks like I got payback for that swindling. And by the way…" She slapped him in the face with her Iron Tail. "That was for feeling my butt!"

"Why you little…!"

Before Poisonpore could attack, Selena came into the room and hit him with an Iron Tail of her own. Trailblazer put a real PP-Zero Bracelet on his neck to keep him from retaliating.

"Gotcha," Hot Air taunted. "Looks like you can't kill me anymore."

"And your ridiculous plan to get 'Riptide' canceled has failed, too," Selena added.

"That was his plan?" Haigsfeld asked.

"Yes. He wanted to kill Hot Air by first getting 'Riptide' canceled to break his spirit, and then actually murdering him while he was depressed."

"And why shouldn't I have done that?!" Poisonpore demanded, struggling against his bonds. "A fool who would take 'Riptide' away from another country doesn't deserve to live! And those who think they have the right to enjoy you, my darling, don't either!"

"Sorry for loving the show," Hot Air said sarcastically. "Seriously, you're nuts. And you're going back to jail."

"I'm going back to the Twilight Kingdom in three days," Haigsfeld said. "I can take this guy with me."

"No! I'm not going back to jail! Not with Hotmouth!"

"Shut up!" Hot Air commanded. The group took Poisonpore out of the cabin and back outside.

"You know, this was _your_ fault, Hot Air," Poisonpore taunted. "You pushed me to this."

"Well, that's what you get for liking the Twilit dub of the show."

"That's it!" Poisonpore was still tied up and lacking his Moves, but he still managed to attack Hot Air with an improvised headbutt.

"Oh, you want a piece of me?!" Hot Air went in to do a true Tackle attack of his own. Poisonpore jumped into it to make it so his neck got hit, breaking the inopsite. He then used Psychic on Hot Air. He tossed him aside and focused on Pelame. He picked her up. He picked Mori up as well when he saw him come to her rescue. He tossed both of them into the peak of the mountain. The sound of rumbling could be heard as little bits of snow fell down the slope. Those little bits got bigger, and then a full avalanche started. Everyone got swept off the mountain in different directions, with Pelame and Mori falling in the direction of the ocean.

* * *

At the bottom of the ravine just shy of the ocean, Pelame awakened, half-buried in the snow. Mori had awakened before she did, and he pulled her out of the snow.

"Thanks," she said. "Where are we?"

"We're on the edge of Tradja…" Mori answered. "Poisonpore went crazy and caused an avalanche. I hope they caught him."

"Me too. Let's just try to get back to civilization." Mori agreed with Pelame's assessment and followed her into a nearby cove. Under the water was a cave. They dove into it and found the tunnel wasn't too long, although the water was very cold. Going further into the cave, they ended up sliding down a very steep slope. At the bottom was light, and a city of some kind. They saw a sign, but before they could read it, and espurr approached them.

"We've not had visitors to Stepalas in a long, long time," he said.

"Stepalas?" Mori asked. "Is that this city's name?"

"Nope. It's this _Micronation's_ name. It's our policy that visitors meet the Imperators, so you must come with me." The espurr teleported himself along with Pelame and Mori. They arrived in a lobby of some kind. "Excellencies, we have visitors!"

After a short pause, an answer came.

"Enter with them."

The door opened, and the three entered through it. There was a male meowstic seated next to a female meowstic. The male had golden yellow triangular markings lining his ears and his tails, with a round marking on his arms. He wore a grey cap with a gold star on it. And around his right eye was an Alpha Sigil. The female was much less decorated. All she had was an Alpha Sigil around her right eye.

"I am Imperator Fuoco," introduced the male.

"I am Imperator D'Artificio," introduced the female.

"And we are the Imperators of Stepalas," Fuoco finished. "We founded this micronation in the name of peace and safety. That's why we hid it here within the cliffs of Tradja. Our illusionary power projects the image of a plateau over this area. That way, sunlight can reach here, and outsiders cannot see into here. So it is not common for us to get visitors."

"Please do pardon us, sires," Pelame said, bowing. "We were just battling a criminal who caused an avalanche on the mountain—"

"Sorry, but I do not care to hear how you got here. Stepalas's seclusion is a valuable part of its peace and safety. My sister and I cannot have it compromised. That is why you two will not be leaving."

"Wait, we won't be any trouble! We promise!"

"We cannot trust those from the outside. You will reside here as citizens of Stepalas. Clarity, show them to their new home."

"Yes, sires," responded the espurr. He teleported himself and the two Researchers away.

* * *

"I am Clarity," Clarity introduced when they arrived inside a house. "While you are all living here, I will be your servicer. I am your only means in or out of this house, and I will be accompanying you whenever we go outside the house."

"I don't understand why this is happening!" Pelame said apprehensively. "We haven't done anything wrong! We just got here!"

"Please do make sure you do nothing wrong. You will not want to invoke the Imperators' wrath. If you do, you'll end up like him." Clarity pointed to the absol coming down the stairs into the living room.

"Hey, where's his mouth?" Mori wondered.

"He received the maximum punishment of our nation. The Imperators don't believe in killing, so the maximum punishment is silence. Using the staff they keep between their thrones, the Imperators removed the lips of the offending Pokémon, making them unable to speak clearly. This foolish absol, one Ogilvie by name, deserved—"

"Excuse me, what did you say?!" Pelame shouted. "This is Ogilvie?!"

"Yes. And I'd advise you don't follow his example."

Pelame went up and hugged the mouthless absol.

"I finally found you…"


	28. The Paranoid Micronation of Stepalas

Chapter 28 – The Paranoid Micronation of Stepalas

* * *

"These are for you," Clarity said to Pelame and Mori as he gave them envelopes. Inside the envelopes were paperwork of multiple kinds, including an ID card for each of them. "You two are officially citizens of Stepalas. We used your previous passports to make these. No better way to learn your names."

"But we don't want to live here!" Pelame protested. "We just ended up here by accident!"

"That doesn't matter. Stepalas cannot compromise its safety for anything. That's why I had to confiscate all your belongings. Except for your money, which you'll also find enclosed in the envelopes. But as for your passports and other outside belongings, the Imperators have disposed of it all."

"Are they nuts?!" Mori cried. "We had really valuable things with us, and they're all gone now?!"

"I know it can be rough adjusting to your new life here," Clarity continued. "But I think you'll like our nation. As is custom, I'm going to tell you how it was made. Let's re-convene in the living room." Once they all took their seats in the living room, Clarity told the story of Stepalas's founding.

"Five months ago, our Imperators Fuoco and D'Artificio came from a rich Tradjan family, who left their fortune to them upon their deaths. Family friends of theirs soon started showing their true colors by asking money favors from them, draining a large portion of their fortune. Before long, they had had enough of being taken advantage of. So they came here and bought this territory with what they had left, and named it 'Stepalas'. And once it had gained a sizable population that could maintain an economy, they secluded it from the rest of the world. The original members of Stepalas's populace had also been betrayed and tormented when they lived in the outside world, so they embraced their new lives here. The Imperators swore to protect everyone here from the dangers of the outside world. And Stepalas has prospered ever since."

Clarity did not get the response he hoped for.

"Is this place totally nuts?!" Pelame asked.

"Pelame, please stop making those demeaning comments—"

"So not only did those Imperators of yours steal away Pokémon who wander into here by accident, but they also stole the story of Tradja's founding! Seriously, it's almost exactly the same story! Just replace the Imperators with Kaiser Tradhelm, take out the part about 'secluding from the rest of the world', and you've got the story of Tradja's founding! For goodness' sake, HE WAS THE ONE WHO NAMED THIS COUNTRY 'TRADJA'!"

"Oh, and also, Tradhelm didn't 'come here and buy this territory'," Mori added. "He simply introduced an actual government to a continent that didn't have one at the time."

"Coincidence," Clarity countered. "In fact, it was Kaiser Ottovon that accepted the purchase they made. Now, that's enough of this. Let's have our dinner."

Clarity brought four Oran Sandwiches out of the refrigerator and placed them on the living room's coffee table, one for each Pokémon sitting around it.

"Wait a sec," Mori asked. "How will Ogilvie eat if he doesn't have a mouth?"

"Watch," Clarity answered. They looked over at the mouthless absol. As soon as he cut his sandwich up into little pieces, he prodded one of the pieces with the area of his face where his mouth would've been. It disappeared off the plate.

"What the…?!" Pelame and Mori both exclaimed.

"The staff the Imperators keep between their thrones has a special jewel on it called the Orb of Silence. That's what they used to take away Ogilvie's lips. But that's all the orb can take away; it cannot take away a voice, nor can it take away any other part of the mouth. The intent is only to keep an offending Pokémon from being able to speak, not to starve them. Which is why food disappears into the victim's mouth, so food consumption can still occur. Same goes for liquid consumption."

"…I hate this place…" Pelame said in subdued anger. "I haven't even been here for two hours, and I already hate this place and everything about it."

"Well, let's fix that tomorrow. We're going out to tour the premises."

* * *

Tradja's nighttime was the Twilight Kingdom's afternoon. In the Ville du Soleil Couchant, Blessing, Snivy, and Weston awakened, bound to the same couch. Only Weston was gagged, presumably to keep him from burning the ropes. The three of them had PP-Zero Bracelets clamped onto them.

"What happened?" Blessing asked. "Last thing I remember was a simisage putting us to sleep…"

"Yep, you'd be right about that."

The simisage with an Alpha Sigil on his lips put his binoculars down and went away from the window, walking over to his captives.

"Who are you?" Blessing asked. "And what do you want with us?!"

"Wait a second…" Snivy interjected, as she remembered something important. "Blessing, Weston, remember what Neve said about a con artist pretending to be an Alpha?"

Blessing and Weston both nodded.

"This guy might be that fake Alpha!"

"Hmph… pesky police reports…" said the simisage, irritated. "And this stupid paint doesn't help, either." The Alpha Sigil on his lips was merely makeup, which wasn't lasting long against his high body temperature. He disregarded this and continued addressing his victims. "Don't blame me for my actions; blame those other Pokémon for having expensive things I want! Some guy named Torden was supposed to come by with that chimchar there, but he stood me up! But the joke's on him; that fancy car I saw in his Twang Table photo album, is mine now."

"So what do you need us for, huh?" Snivy asked.

"Nothing, really, other than to get him here so I can give him some revenge for standing me up. I don't like being stood up. Know what happens when I'm upset by slights like that?"

"Should we even answer?" Blessing sarcastically asked.

"I'll show you anyway." The fake Alpha opened up a nearby closet to reveal a big stack of buckets and a stack of bags of quick-drying cement. Blessing suddenly got very apprehensive. "And this is why I have a sink conveniently close to this closet." He got out three buckets and filled them all with water and then carried them over to his three captives. He started with Weston by holding his legs in place and pouring the cement powder into the bucket. Once it hardened, he repeated the process with Blessing and then with Snivy. "Just getting you ready so I don't have to do it later. And I'll be doing the same to Torden once I finish with him. All four of you will be lakebed decorations. Isn't that great?"

"No, it's not! Get this off my feet! Can't you just shoot me instead?!" Blessing asked, afraid.

"Good idea, but no. I don't have a gun. Now it's time to get Torden here." The fake Alpha got onto his computer and sent Torden a ransom email. "And then, we wait." He turned around in his chair to face his captives as they all waited for a response. After ten minutes, there was a knock at the only door into the room. "Here he is." He got up to open the door. As soon as he started to turn the knob, the door was suddenly kicked in, smacking him in the face and sending him reeling backwards. Pugno came rushing toward the fake Alpha and put inopsite-laced handcuffs on him.

"Got him, Captain!" he said.

"Well done," Keldeo complimented.

"Well, actually, _we_ did it together. You kicked the door down—"

"—and you made the arrest. Just take this one."

"Wait a sec…" said the criminal simisear. "How'd you find me? I've hidden this place so well!"

"Physically, yes," Keldeo answered. "But not from the deep web. We got an email from a raichu named Torden with the IP Address of your whereabouts. A simple search on Twang Maps told us that the IP Address translated to this very physical address. And just imagine my surprise when I saw that the sender of that email was you, Heatpad: the fake Alpha. I figured you'd be the perfect first arrest for my newest protégé, and I was right. And considering you've taken four lives yourself in the exact fashion it looks like you were going to do with those three over there, I'd say that's cause enough for your life to end."

"What? But… you can't decide that! Only the King can do that!"

"He's now only _one_ of two Pokémon who can. I'm the other, as of earlier today. I'm not only Captain Keldeo now. I am also Judge Keldeo. And as the Supreme Judge of Twilight Kingdom Law, I'm pronouncing the death sentence on you as retribution for the four you drowned. Pugno, free those three and let's take this lowlife scum back to the dungeon."

"Yes, sir," Pugno responded. He used Power-Up Punch to break the cement off of the victims' feet, undid their PP-Zero Bracelets, and then untied them all.

"Wait a minute," Blessing said incredulously. "Did you just say you're gonna _drown_ this guy?!"

"Certainly," Keldeo answered. "Believe me, it's an ideal final fate for the kind of scumbags I deal with. Rotten Pokémon like Heatpad here who commit these kinds of severe crimes should themselves suffer a grisly punishment."

"Well, don't you think drowning is a bit _too_ grisly?"

"Not at all. Plus, the pool I use to execute criminals this way is filled with freshwater. That way, it'll be over sooner than it would be with saltwater. There's some science to that that I don't have the time to explain right now, so I must be on my way."

"Well… thanks for saving us, Captain—Judge, and you too, Pugno."

"No problem," Pugno responded. "And remember to thank Torden when you take his car back to him. He directed us here, after all."

"The pleasure's also mine. The Ville will be safer once this flaming felon is dealt with," Keldeo said. "Now, Pugno, let's return to the castle."

"No, wait! I'll turn a new leaf over!" Heatpad said in panic. "I won't steal ever again! I won't kill again, either! Please, just let me go!"

"Gag him. I can't stand his whining."

"Me neither, sir," Pugno responded as he tied the same scarf that had silenced Weston over Heatpad's mouth.

As Pugno left with his Captain/Judge, Blessing, Snivy, and Weston left the building and got into Torden's car. On their way back to the hotel, Snivy noticed the distraught look on her friend's face.

"Are you all right?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Yeah…" Blessing answered, not hiding her feelings at all. "I'm just… shocked. I just can't believe this city drowns criminals… it's just… so cruel… I mean, yeah, I agree something has to be done about the world's crime rate. Being a former criminal myself, I understand Keldeo's devotion to justice. But… I just feel there are better ways to deal with criminals. Heck, there's even less painful ways to kill them. So, why drown them? Doesn't Keldeo know how painful that is?"

"Blessing, are you… aquaphobic?"

"I… yeah, I am… a little bit…"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. Water can be scary sometimes."

* * *

In Stepalas, it turned 8:00AM on Eighthmonth 18th, 1512. Pelame, Mori, and Ogilvie were all asleep in the same bedroom. They were awakened by a loud alarm that blared all throughout the house. The alarm was accompanied by a robotic voice repeatedly shouting "GOOD MORNING!". The three Pokémon awakened with a start and climbed out of their beds. The annoying combination of sounds continued all throughout their morning routine of showering, teeth-brushing, and deodorizing. Once they got downstairs for breakfast, the noise finally stopped.

"Twenty minutes…" Clarity said disapprovingly. "Try to be faster tomorrow morning. Your breakfast has gotten a bit cold."

"Fried Tamato Berry Quiche?" Mori said about the food. "This is a Blooman delicacy. You know that, right?"

"Well, we serve it, too. Now eat. We've got lots and lots to see."

"Well, what about Ogilvie?" Pelame asked. "A sandwich is one thing, but how's he gonna eat quiche without a mouth? Quiche is bigger than a sandwich. He could choke on this!"

"For foods this grandiose, I have to assist him." Clarity sat next to Ogilvie and telepathically lifted up Ogilvie's quiche. Using his psychic power, he split the quiche up into many tiny pieces. Ogilvie was free to eat up. Pretty soon, breakfast was done. "Okay. Let's begin the tour of Stepalas."

Clarity took hold of everyone with his telekinesis and teleported away.

* * *

"Is residential areas the only thing this place has?!" Mori complained. "Some micronation…"

"Of course not," Clarity answered. "Stepalas has much more to see. But as we are a nation of safety, we do have to have lots of living quarters just in case we get any more members added to our population."

"Even so," Pelame added. "Did we really have to devote three hours to this tour just to look at houses?!"

"The tour must leave nothing out," Clarity answered, beginning to lose his patience. "But this means the tour is half over. Let's go see the town now."

The next two hours were just as dull as the first three.

"Yipee… stores, the post office, banks, community centers, parks, public pools, restaurants, arcades, and a jail…" Pelame sarcastically cheered. "_So_ glad to have been shown all of _this_."

"Seriously, the members of the populace that we met were more fun than this," Mori added.

"Then you'll be happy to know that the tour's over," Clarity said. "Let's go home." Clarity teleported himself and the others back to the house. The rest of the day was spent there.

* * *

The date was now Eighthmonth 25th. Trailblazer was at the Hamblin Police Station to follow up on the report he'd filed to get Pelame and Mori searched for.

"We've searched all throughout the mountains," explained an abomasnow. "The missing Pokémon haven't turned up."

"Eight days…" Trailblazer said in disbelief and worry. "Well, regardless, I know you're doing your best, but please don't give up. I know they're alive!"

"We're doing all we can. But if they don't turn up in six more days, they're going to be legally declared dead."

"…just find them. They've got families who are worried for their safety… Please… I don't want to lose any more friends…"

* * *

"Is there any way we can communicate with Ogilvie at all?" Pelame asked Clarity.

"Why would you want to talk to him?" Clarity asked.

"He's a dear friend of our boss," Mori answered.

"I see. Well, I can't give him his mouth back, if that's what you want. So, you'll just have to see if you can make out his mumbling."

"Urgh… well, at least he'll still be better to talk to than you, Clarity," Pelame curtly replied.

"Hmph. Well, I have to see the Imperators about something. Secret stuff. So enjoy talking to that mute right there, you ungrateful hussy." Clarity teleported away.

* * *

Clarity appeared in front of the door to the Imperators' throne room. He knocked on the door and announced his presence.

"Enter," Fuoco ordered.

Clarity entered and bowed to his rulers.

"Status report?" D'Artificio asked.

"*sigh* Those two are as Obstinate as Ogilvie, if not more. I've shown them everything last week, got them their favorite foods for every meal, took them to community events, everything! The works! Why don't they enjoy their new home?!"

"Those rebellious whelps." Fuoco said, slightly raising his voice. "Clarity, let me assure you that it's not your fault. Outsiders are stubborn by nature."

"Unpleasable prudes," D'Artificio added.

"I know you'll get through to them somehow. The anniversary of Stepalas's founding is coming up in just six days. Take them to the commemoration banquet. That'll get through to them."

"As you wish, sires," Clarity answered, bowing to his rulers. He then teleported away.

* * *

"Ogilvie, I promised Trailblazer that I'd save you," Pelame said. "I don't intend to break it. Somehow, Mori and I will get you out of here."

"Fmmmmph mmmm," Ogilvie answered. By his facial and bodily expressions, Pelame could tell she was being thanked.

"While Clarity's out, let's try to find a way out of this house," Mori suggested. "Digging through the ground is too conspicuous, as is breaking through the windows."

"Let's dig out through the basement, then," Pelame suggested.

"Basement? Is there a way down there?"

"Mhmm," Ogilvie answered. "Fmmmgmm mmm." He led them to the food closet and showed them another door hidden behind the shelf. He opened it and climbed in with Pelame and Mori following closely behind him. He led them to a spot on the wall. "Dmmgm hmmf."

"Mori, I think he wants you to dig at that spot on the wall," Pelame translated. Ogilvie nodded to let her know she was correct.

"Consider it done," Mori said bravely. He bore his hands into the wall and started digging through it. "Well, good thing they didn't slap PP-Zero Bracelets on us. You two following?"

"Right behind you," Pelame answered as she and Ogilvie followed Mori deeper into the tunnel he was digging. "Hey… did you hear that…?"

"Hear what?"

"Listen…"

From beyond the cavern wall, muffled cries for help could be heard.

"More Silenced Pokémon?"

"Well, let's find out." Mori then dug through the wall toward the source of the sound. Before long, they located the source of the sound: two Pokémon. One of them was red and white, and the other was blue and white.

"The Eon Duo!" Pelame said in surprise. "Stepalas got them, too?!"

"They're Silenced!" Mori added.

"Looks like you discovered more delinquents."

Clarity had caught up to the three of them.

"You really thought you could escape from Stepalas, eh?"

"You think you're gonna stop us, you paranoid tool?!" Pelame retorted. She lashed out with a Quick Attack before Clarity could do anything. Mori then knocked him out with an Energy Ball attack.

"All right, let's go!" Mori declared. He dug up into the ceiling and continued making an underground tunnel. He took a brief moment to poke his head out of the ground. He went back down to report what he saw. "The border's west of here. Follow me." Mori dug in the westward direction. After getting quite a ways, he suddenly hit a metal wall. "All right, we're going up."

Above the ground was the border. Pelame, Mori, Ogilvie, Latios and Latias were nearly out of the paranoid micronation. They made a run for it, but stopped when they saw that the Eon Duo weren't following. Turning back to check on them, they found Clarity there, along with Imperators Fuoco and D'Artificio.

"Want these two back?" Clarity asked.

Mori quickly threw another Energy Ball at them with Ogilvie supporting with a Dark Pulse from his horn. The Imperators lost their telekinetic grip upon being hit.

"Latios, Latias, stop!" D'Artificio ordered.

"We at Stepalas promise you a life of eternal peace and safety," Fuoco said calmly.

The Eon Duo stopped, and their eyes suddenly relaxed. In the center of them was the same symbol that was on Fuoco's hat.

"Seize them."

Latios and Latias did as ordered by telekinetically grabbing Pelame, Mori, and Ogilvie, and dragging them back from the gate.

"Clarity, thanks for alerting us of what these three were up to," Fuoco thanked. "You can take Ogilvie back to his house and take Latios and Latias back to their chamber. We're going to see to these two nearly-escapees."

"As you wish, excellencies," Clarity responded, teleporting the three away to their ordered destinations. Fuoco and D'Artificio then teleported away with Pelame and Mori in tow.

* * *

In the Imperators' throne room, Pelame and Mori were forcefully thrown to the ground. The Imperators took their seats and were very angry, even though Fuoco's expression wasn't showing it.

"Nice try," D'Artificio taunted. "But you failed."

"It's bad enough you feel so negatively about our nation," Fuoco scolded. "But to actually attempt to run from it and bringing three others with you is an extreme action we never thought you'd take."

"Well, you can't exactly blame us for having such a low opinion of this awful place!" Pelame snapped. "As a matter of fact, _you two_ are who Mori and I blame for it!"

"Exactly!" Mori agreed. "This isn't peace and safety you're offering us! You're just keeping us prisoner here out of fear!"

"The world outside of Stepalas is a world of treachery and evil," Fuoco responded. "Being outsiders yourselves, I thought you knew that."

"Yes, there's evil out there," Pelame interjected. "But there's also good. Mori and I worked with lots of good Pokémon before we ended up here, and we were even helping make the world safer. Do you know of the Dark Blessing?"

"Yes," D'Artificio answered.

"I would think so, considering those Alpha Sigils over your eyes. Well, I happen to have the—"

"And what do you think gives you the right to know how we got these Sigils?" Fuoco asked. "You're outsiders. It doesn't matter that you're an Alpha just like us, Pelame. You come from outside Stepalas, which makes you dangerous."

"I am not dangerous! I was trying to save Pocketurn from the Dark Blessing—"

"You will not take that tone of voice with—"

"By keeping us stranded here, you're taking away one of the only advantages Pocketurn has against—"

"That is ENOUGH!" Fuoco screamed, unfolding his ears. A powerful psychic burst was unleashed when he did so. He held Pelame and Mori in midair with telekinesis. "I will have no more of this insubordination from you two! You will live the rest of your lives here in Stepalas, AND YOU WILL LIKE **_EVERY LAST MOMENT_**_ OF IT_! Because I am going to make you!"

"Brother, don't!" D'Artificio cried out in shock. "You could kill them!"

Fuoco didn't respond to his sister. The eyes on both his face and his ears turned gold like his Alpha Sigil and the rest of the yellow markings on his body. Pelame and Mori both writhed in agony.

"Stepalas is your home now," he said calmly. He repeated this phrase over and over again until Pelame and Mori stopped wincing in pain. "We at Stepalas promise you a life of eternal peace and safety."

A symbol resembling the five-point star symbol on his hat appeared in Pelame's and Mori's eyes.

"We thank you for protecting us," Pelame and Mori said sincerely.

Once it was clear that they were placed in a trance, Fuoco folded his ears and stopped using his power.

"You will live in Stepalas in peace, safety, and silence. Step forward."

Pelame and Mori obeyed. Fuoco brought forth his staff with the Orb of Silence on it. He touched their faces with it. Once he did, their lips were absorbed into the orb, Silencing them.

"Return now to your homes." Fuoco then sent them back to the house where Clarity waited for them.

* * *

"Dark Blessing, where are you?!" Poisonpore demanded as he ran through a Tradjan field in the middle of nowhere. "I need you!"

No response.

"I won't lose you again! I promise! Just let me have your power again, please!"

"The Dark Blessing's power will never be yours again…" said a skuntank in the field, stopping Poisonpore in his tracks.

"What do you mean?"

"You were Purified, right?"

"Yes… but that was just a fluke!"

"It doesn't matter. Once Purified, the Dark Blessing can't reach you again. You've failed. But honestly, you weren't fit for it."

"Oh really? Name one way I wasn't!"

"You're a civilized Pokémon. A rotten one at that. Pokémon like you ruin the planet of Pocketurn. So, you never could grasp what true power is. I'll show you right now the Dark Blessing's true power, given only to those who understand it fully."

Mustard Jr.'s tail opened up, releasing a stream of explosive energy that hit Poisonpore directly. When the dust cleared, nothing remained of the criminal umbreon.


	29. Peace, Safety, and Silence

Chapter 29 – Peace, Safety, and Silence

* * *

"We've done all we can, but they have not turned up," said the chief abomasnow. "I'm sorry, Mister Trailblazer, but as of today, Pelame and Mori are dead."

"…I see…" Trailblazer said solemnly. "Thanks for trying." He then returned to the TIGHS HQ to let everyone know the bad news.

"Everyone… we've lost the two Summa Cum Laudes. Pelame and Mori have been declared dead."

The Guild's entire personnel gasped in shock.

"They have been gone for long enough for the Tradjan law to declare them dead. But that does not mean they really are dead. So, keep your eyes out for them whenever you're out Researching. Let's not give up hope for our friends."

* * *

"Well, this is it for me until next month," Torden said to Blessing and Snivy. "Good luck on your house search. I told the hotel to give you this room, so you can keep it for as long as you need it."

"Thanks, Torden," Blessing said. "You've been a really good help lately. We really appreciate it."

"No problem. Be seeing you."

"See you later, pal."

Torden left the hotel and drove off, beginning his trip back to Llyria County.

"He's a really nice guy, huh?" Snivy asked.

"Yep, though a bit goofy at times," Blessing responded. "You know, he did try to date me when we were going to college. He didn't find out about my… romantic incompatibility until the day we all banded together to stop Paras."

"How'd he take it?"

"He took it well. He was more ashamed of himself for not asking and he felt like he'd been stalking me. But I didn't. I enjoyed his company all the same. Funny thing is, for a while, I wasn't seeking out someone to date. But then I met you again after you got out of jail, and then… well… here we are."

"Mov—"

At that moment, the hotel's phone rang.

"Hello?" Blessing asked once she picked up.

"Ah, good, I finally reached you," said Professor Adorbs. "About time, too."

"Oh… uh, *heh heh* hey there, Mom. H-how are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine. Just wondering where you've been for the past more-than-a-week. Henry mentioned that Torden was going to the Ville, which I knew because it was brought up many times before, but then I heard you and Snivy tagged along for the ride, as did Weston to get tended to after he was accosted by that Demon."

"Yeah, we came here looking for a job for Snivy. We're still looking, by the way, but the Ville's Royal District Casino looks promising, and we're going in for an interview in three days."

"That's neat. I only wish you'd told me much sooner. This is literally the first I'm hearing about _any_ of this."

"Uh… *hee hee* sorry I worried you. I was just busy, that's all. Life stuff."

"It's all right. Just make sure you keep me posted more often, okay?"

"Deal."

"Okay. At any rate, I'm happy to hear about all this progress you're making. Keep it up, Blessing."

"Okay. Thanks. I'll talk to you later."

"See you later. Bye."

Both Pokémon hung up.

"That was my mother. Wow, I feel like an idiot."

"How come?" Snivy asked.

"Until now, I mentioned _nothing_ to her about where I was and what I was doing. I just heard it from her just now for keeping her in the dark about all that."

"Wow, Blessing. That's a huge slip-up."

"Yep. Well, let's go check out houses again, huh?"

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

"…I agree," said King Kangaskhan II. "It's astounding how little time they spend on rescue missions."

"My daughter isn't dead, and neither's her friend," Pinna said. "The TIGHS staff knows it, too. They told me all about it."

"Yes. And I'm sure you know how important Pelame is to Pocketurn's safety, as she, much like you, has the ability to Purify Demons. She must be found. So, would you like to search for her?"

"Most definitely. I would like that very much."

"All right, then. Be sure to consult with Keldeo. I'll let him know about this, but you also should, too."

"Thank you, Sire." Pinna bowed to his king and then left to meet his captain.

* * *

"Demon activity's at a pleasingly low level," Keldeo said to Pugno and Benedict on the training grounds. "I guess they're finally learning not to mess with us of the Twilit Law, eh?"

"Definitely, sir," Benedict responded. "Or, should I say, Your Honor, considering your promotion."

"Go with whatever you're comfortable with. I still have my job as Captain, you know."

"With those two jobs, though," Pugno added. "You are basically the living form of the law here."

"Indeed, and criminals would do good to learn that. I'm getting another chance pretty soon since Hot Air's daring to return here. I'm not executing him, but he's likely gonna wish I would."

"Talking justice with the newbies again?" Pinna asked as he arrived. "Just like my Captain."

"That's what my sword is for. Hey, you know, that sounds pretty good. 'Keldeo, the Sword of Justice'!"

"Yep, that sounds perfect on you."

"Thanks. I'll just keep that made-up title, then. Oh, and Pinna, the King told me you were coming to consult with me about that mission you're going on. I'm granting you my permission to undertake that mission. Pugno, would you like to accompany Pinna to Tradja to search for Pelame and Mori?"

"Certainly!" Pugno answered in concerned excitement.

"Good. You'll be a party of three. Valkyrie will go with you as well."

"By the way, what's the mission, anyway. I know it has to do with Pelame and, Mori, was it?"

"Short for 'Morikain'," Pinna explained. "He's a friend Pelame made in TIGHS."

"Oh, I remember hearing about him. He's missing, too?"

"Yep," Keldeo continued. "And worse, the Tradjan police force local to the area they vanished from stopped looking for them, per Tradjan law. They're legally dead according to that ridiculous ordinance. But they're not going to be opposed to a search party from outside the country looking for them. I'll let them know, so they don't try to stop you. That's the gist of the mission."

"I see. Well, I'm ready."

"Me, too," Pinna added.

"Excellent," Keldeo answered. "Meet with Valkyrie, and you three will be good to go. Good luck!"

* * *

**"****What's next for you, eh, wild guy?"**

Mustard Jr.'s next destination wasn't set, but after his killing of Poisonpore, he felt very confident.

"That pathetic umbreon was no threat," he answered his Dark Blessing. "But I'd like to get of those who _are_. They're keeping me from un-civilizing this world."

**"****Track them down, then. You can find them."**

"No need to remind me."

Taking a moment to relax, he felt a strong Alpha presence originating north of where he was. He knew immediately who it belonged to.

_"__Destination set,"_ he thought to himself. He then curled into a ball and used his Flame Wheel to speed off to his destination.

* * *

Back in Stepalas, it was the afternoon of a special occasion.

"Today's the big day, everyone!" Clarity said to his mouthless charges, overjoyed. "Stepalas was founded today five months ago, and we're having a big banquet to celebrate!"

Pelame, Mori, and Ogilvie all responded in silent joy.

"So, let's get going! Let's take a look at all the festivities we're having today!"

Clarity teleported himself and his three charges outside to the public center of the city-sized micronation. There, many little booths were set up, each selling many different kind of wares with the Imperators' likeness on them. Clarity went and bought six bandanas, three with Fuoco on them and the other three with D'Artificio on them. He put them on each of his three wards, who accepted them happily.

The next three hours were spent trying on new outfits decorated with Stepalas lore, tasting homemade snacks and baked goods, and spectating local sports events. At 6:30PM, it was time for the banquet to start. Pelame enjoyed every moment of this day, but something was beginning to perturb her. She decided not to bring it up out of courtesy. Not that she could, being as she was Silenced.

The banquet was held in the biggest building in the center of the micronation. The entire population of Stepalas was there, all 300 of them. All the seats were filled and everyone attending had their food ready for eating. Everyone waited for the signal to begin eating.

"Good evening, everyone!" Fuoco greeted. "Today is the fifth anniversary of the founding of Stepalas! It gives us both great pleasure to see such a big turnout!"

"We are grateful," D'Artificio added.

"We have both strived to hide us all away from the world outside this safe spot. The safety of Stepalas was nearly compromised on many occasions, but in the end, peace and safety prevailed! But neither my sister nor I hold grudges, so those of you who have ever transgressed on this nation's tranquility are forgiven. That concludes my announcement."

"Let's eat!"

* * *

The plane from Hamblin was halfway to the Ville Du Soleil Couchant, and so far, neither Hot Air nor Haigsfeld had anything to say. He didn't know it for certain, but he guessed Hot Air was still mulling over what had happened when Pelame and Mori were declared dead.

_"__How could this happen?" _he wondered as he remembered what had happened.

* * *

_Rudolph entered his house, where the members of the _Riptide_ Fan Club who went to help rescue Selena were waiting along with Hot Air and Haigsfeld, eager to hear any good news of the two lost Pokémon. Selena took time out of her schedule to attend this impromptu meeting as well. Unfortunately, the news was not good._

_"__They're dead as far as the law is concerned." Rudolph said sadly._

_Everyone was shocked to hear that as they responded with a big mixture of "It can't be!'s and "No!"s._

_"__They've looked all throughout the northern mountains, but they haven't been found. And now, the search has stopped."_

_"__But they don't really know if they're dead!" Selena cried. "Can't we go looking for her ourselves?"_

_"__Why?" Hot Air asked. "Pelame hated _Riptide_, and that Mori guy she was with didn't seem that excited about it."_

_"__What's _that_ supposed to mean?!" Haigsfeld demanded._

_"__Why waste time looking for _Riptide_ haters?"_

_The response to that was rightfully disgusted._

_"__What?!"_

_"__Hot Air…" Castor said. "Two Pokémon could very well actually be dead. And the fact that they don't like a show you like is enough for you to wish for their death?!"_

_"__Well… no, but I'm not gonna be sad if they are. And really, wouldn't our community be better off if they don't spread their hate of the show? That'd be as harmful as 'fans' who support the Twilit dub."_

_"__No," Selena said flatly. "It would not. I work on _Riptide_. I act in it. And I can tell you that it is absolutely no skin off my back that there are Pokémon who don't like the show, or prefer a foreign dub of it. So why should it be any skin off yours?!"_

_"__The version you act in is the true version and a national treasure. That's why."_

_"__Not everyone sees it that way, and they don't need to. And honestly, it makes me sick to hear anyone think that others should see it that way. Hot Air, you should be very ashamed of yourself."_

_No one else needed to say anything, as Selena hit the nail on the head. Hot Air had nothing to say, so he left._

* * *

_"__To be dissed by an actress from the show… might as well just go back home."_

* * *

Clarity found time to chat with fellow housekeepers. Pelame, Mori, and Ogilvie got to get acquainted with the other housekeepers' charges. Currently, Clarity was conversing with a kadabra who was with a Silenced golbat.

"So, those two finally got tamed?" asked the kadabra.

"That's right, Cosmo," Clarity answered. "It took Imperator Fuoco himself to convince them, if you know what I mean."

"Whoa… they got him _that_ upset?"

"Yep. Not even Ogilvie here managed to do that. But all is forgiven. Life will be good from now on. So how about Flitter there? How's he been?"

"On his best behavior. He loves Stepalas life now. He's been looking forward to this for a long time."

"As anyone should. This has been lots of fun."

"Oh, definitely! I just heard fireworks earlier, so they must be putting together a really big surprise!"

"Fireworks?" Clarity was confused. "But the Imperators don't like fireworks…"

An explosion could be heard from outside.

"That sounded dangerously low to the ground!"

Pelame was feeling very apprehensive suddenly. Another explosion hit the front door of the building the banquet was happening in, blasting it away along with most of the front of the building. Pelame then came to her senses, as did Mori. She tossed a ball of Alpha energy at the front of the building, hitting Mustard Jr. as he was entering the building.

"I felt your power," Mustard Jr. said. "Thanks for leading me to another civilized gathering for me to destroy!"

"What's going on here?!" Fuoco demanded, standing up to the intruder. "Who are you?! Another outsider?!"

"You could say that…" Mustard Jr. let out a Flamethrower from his mouth, aiming at the Imperator. D'Artificio stepped up and blocked the attack.

"I'll Silence him!" she said.

"Good idea! Get the staff! I'll hold him off!" Fuoco responded. When D'Artificio left, Fuoco gave another order. "Housekeepers, get your charges back to their homes! Protect them!"

The housekeepers obeyed and left with their wards. Clarity was the only exception, as Ogilvie knocked him out once the order was given. He, Pelame, and Mori went to back Fuoco up.

"What are you three outsiders doing?!" Fuoco demanded.

Pelame said nothing, not being able to. She attacked Mustard Jr. with a Quick Attack.

"You're helping me?!" Fuoco asked, somewhat impressed.

Mori nodded in response before lashing out with a Leaf Blade attack. As the skuntank terrorist was knocked over, Mori turned to the Imperator and pointed to the foe's tail.

"What is it? What about his tail?"

Mori was attempting to pantomime an explosion to let the male meowstic know what Mustard Jr. was capable of. Fuoco got to see it for himself once Mustard Jr. raised his tail and pointed it at him. Pelame and Fuoco quickly put up an Alpha Barrier to block the explosion, but the force of it knocked them all back. Mustard Jr. was the first to stand back up and he advanced on them. At that moment, D'Artificio returned with the Orb of Silence and tapped the Demon with it, Silencing him as he was about to launch a Flamethrower attack. It proceeded to burn the area where his lips disappeared from.

"Good timing, sister!" Fuoco complimented.

"Why are these three here?" D'Artificio asked.

"They're backing me up against this intruder."

"And so am I!" Clarity added, regaining consciousness and joining the others.

"Shall I un-Silence them?" D'Artificio asked.

"That's a good idea," Fuoco conceded. "But re-Silence them after this is over."

"Consider it done." D'Artificio tapped Pelame, Mori, and Ogilvie with the Orb of Silence, restoring their mouths.

"Hmph…" Mustard Jr. mumbled. "Ymmm fffllll dmmmf fffdmm m dmmph mmgmm mph." He shook his fur, shaking out a liquid he wasn't even wet with.

"Who is this guy, anyway?" Fuoco asked. "Pelame, did you really lead him here?!"

"Not on purpose!" Pelame explained. "He has a Dark Blessing! Three, actually, and they all tracked my location somehow! He followed the signal here, so to speak! If you would've just let me and Mori go, this wouldn't be happening right now!"

Fuoco was about to retort to that, but he couldn't. He just focused on fighting the intruder. He blasted him out of the building with a Psychic attack.

"If we can just stun this guy for long enough, Pelame can banish that Dark Blessing batch out of him," Mori said.

"Wait, she can?!" Ogilvie asked. "Is she one of those Alphas I've heard about?"

"Yep, I sure am," Pelame answered.

"Then for now, we have a partnership," Fuoco summarized. He blocked an incoming Flamethrower. "Wait a minute… D'Artificio Silenced him! How is he using Flamethrower?!"

"His Dark Blessing lets him cheat, basically. He's firing it out of his tail!"

Mustard Jr. laughed even though he had no mouth.

"Shut up!" D'Artificio ordered as she lashed out with a Psycho Cut. He dodged it and aimed an Explosion at her. Fuoco pulled his sister out of the way, but couldn't save the Orb of Silence. Once it broke, Mustard Jr.'s mouth returned, as did the mouths of everyone else who was Silenced.

"That's better!" Mustard Jr. boasted once he regained his mouth. "Ah, and I'm detecting even more power from underground!" He then burrowed underground.

"Where's he going?" Clarity asked.

"Latios and Latias!" Pelame shouted. "He's after them, too!" She sent down an Alpha Cord that latched onto Mustard Jr., dragging her behind him. Mori and Ogilvie quickly followed. When Mustard Jr. reached the chamber the Eon Duo was held in, he went to attack with another Explosion. Pelame pulled his tail away and sent the attack directly above him, collapsing the ceiling onto him. She approached the Eon Duo and undid the bindings that were on them.

"I remember you!" Latios said in relief. "You saved us once before!"

"Well, I failed last time," Pelame answered. "But this time, I won't."

"Then let's go!" Latias said. The three Pokémon left the underground section. The Imperators and Clarity were waiting above ground. Mustard Jr. came out of the ground in flames.

"Can _nothing_ kill this jerk?!" Pelame complained. Mori and Ogilvie returned from underground as well.

"Well, _you_ can't kill me," Mustard Jr. boasted. "But _I'll_ kill _you_ now!" He very quickly approached Pelame and used Shadow Claw on her in an unorthodox way. Instead of slashing at her with it, he stabbed her shoulder with it. He then blasted her with an Explosion, which she blocked. Once again, the proximity to the blast sent her hurtling back. She had no energy to stand up anymore. All she could do now was lie there and watch helplessly as her foe advanced on her.

_"__Oh my goodness, I'm gonna get killed!"_ she thought in fear.

Mori attempted to slice the assailant in the back with his Leaf Blades, but the attack was sensed and retaliated with a Flamethrower, which he took directly to the torso. An Iron Tail then smacked him aside, rendering him down for the count. Fuoco, D'Artificio, and Ogilvie met with the same retaliation, rendering them down for the count. The Eon Duo fared no better as well.

"No more interruptions!" Mustard Jr. said, annoyed. He readied his tail to launch his finishing blow. Then he launched it. Pelame had no energy left to block the attack. Suddenly, something yanked her out of the way. The Explosion attack hit the house they were near, heavily damaging it.

"Ogilvie, take Pelame and get out of here!" Fuoco ordered, setting Pelame on the absol's back.

"Got it," Ogilvie responded. He immediately took off running. Mustard Jr. quickly gave chase despite the Imperators' and Mori's best attempts to stop him. The evil skuntank launched another Explosion which landed right behind Ogilvie and tripped him, causing him to drop Pelame. The rogue's patience wore very thin, so he decided it was now or never. He launched another Explosion right at Pelame. Seeing no other course of action, Ogilvie jumped straight up, obstructing the long-distance Explosion attack and taking it head-on. The others arrived in time to witness this. When the dust cleared, nothing remained of Ogilvie.

"…Ogilvie…?" Pelame quietly called out, voice trembling.

"Did he just…?" D'Artificio pondered in shock and disgust.

"How could he…?" Fuoco added.

"Your turn now, Pelame!" Mustard Jr. declared. "Say 'hello' to both him and that umbreon I detonated on the way here!"

Before he could launch another Explosion, Fuoco telekinetically picked him up.

"Don't you dare," he said in calm fury. "No one else will die here!"

"You should never have upset us!" D'Artificio added. "Now our true powers are revealed! Pelame, Purify him now!"

Mori mustered what remained of his stamina to carry Pelame over to the evil skuntank so she could do her duty as an Alpha of Grani's line. Before that could happen, Mustard Jr. shot a Flamethrower at the Imperators, breaking himself out of their hold. Before anyone could react, he sped off with his improvised Flame Wheel attack.

"…he got away again…" Mori said, frustrated.

"How could this have happened…?" Fuoco said in despair as he observed the damage that had been done by the Demon intruder. "Stepalas… it was supposed to be safe from all threats…"

"Ogilvie…" Pelame said in great sadness. "He's…"

"Pelame… I didn't want this to happen… it wasn't supposed—"

"You shut up!" Pelame screamed at the male meowstic. "How dare… how _DARE_ you and that broad sister of yours call yourselves Alphas! You disgrace those Alpha Sigils on your eyes! A good Pokémon died on the property of this demented micronation of yours, and it's all your fault! Your stupid 'peace and safety' mantra and the underhanded methods of enforcing it got a good Pokémon killed!"

"…don't you think we know that…?" D'Artificio responded.

"I will never, _ever_, **_EVER_** forgive you for this! There is **_NO_** forgiving you for this! I hope you two feel bad about this for the rest of your lives! And I hope I never see you again! Do Pocketurn a huge favor and vanish from it forever!" With nothing left to say, Pelame took off running. Mori went to console his friend. Clarity remained with the Imperators.

"…she's right…" Fuoco said. "It _is_ our fault Ogilvie died. I just wanted to protect as many Pokémon as I could from this kind of devastation."

"Me, too, my brother," D'Artificio added. "I share your regret."

"We made a mistake… Stepalas was that mistake. Let's disband it, give this land back to Kaiser Ottovon, and send these poor Pokémon away before anything else happens to them."

"Good idea. We can't protect them, and we shouldn't have tried to."

* * *

Pelame had nearly reached the gate when her adrenaline rush ended and her fatigue kicked in. She collapsed in front of the gate just as Mori caught up. The Eon Duo had also been heading in her direction. Latios used Heal Pulse on Pelame and gave her an item.

"That's our Eon Flute," Latios said. "Play it if you need us for any reason. We'll hear it no matter where we are."

"It's our gratitude for you saving our lives," Latias added.

"Thanks…" Pelame said sadly. "Actually, I need a favor now. Can you take me and my friend Morikain to Hamblin?"

"Sure! We'll have you there in just ten minutes! Hop on!"

Pelame and Mori did, and the Eon Duo Mega Evolved into their Mega Forms.

"We can only do this when we're near each other," Latias explained. "We're faster and stronger this way. And don't worry about falling off of us. That's why we put up a Psychic barrier around our backs. It works as a windshield, air bag, and railing. And also protection from the planet's atmosphere. Now, off we go!"

In ten minutes, they arrived in Hamblin's Airport. Suddenly, Pelame and Mori's bags appeared in their hands. Attached to them was a note reading, "From Fuoco and D'Artificio, who no longer rule Stepalas, as it does not exist anymore. Please return to your old lives."

"That's nice of them," Latios said. He then continued explaining. "We're required by law to land in airports. We telepathically let the Control Tower know we were coming. Anyway, we're here! Call again!" The Eon Duo were off.

"Whew… feels good to be back in Hamblin," Mori said. "I can't wait to see the looks on everyones' faces when we get back to the HQ." Mori noticed Pelame wasn't following him out of the airport. "You coming?"

"No," Pelame answered.

"What? Why not?"

"I can't. I just… just… just a moment. Wait here." Pelame went to the airport's shopping district and bought a piece of paper and an envelope for a total of two Pokéns. She wrote on the paper and put it in the envelope. She then returned to Mori. "Give this to Trailblazer when you get back."

"Why don't _you_ do it?"

"I can't, Mori. Not after Ogilvie died. I can't face him or the others."

"Pelame, you did the best you could—"

"I can't take it anymore, Mori! I just can't! Ever since we left the Twilight Kingdom, it's just been disaster after disaster! I've had enough of this! I'm going home! So please don't try to stop me!"

"I won't. I understand. But Pelame, before you go…"

"What is it?"

Mori went up to Pelame and hugged her. "I want you to know that you've been a great partner to me. One of the best Pokémon I've ever met."

"Same here. I know we had a bad start, but… well… you turned out to be a great Pokémon, too. My time in TIGHS may have been plagued by constant disasters, but out of all the good things that happened in that time… Morikain, you were, and always will be, the best part of my employment with TIGHS. Thank you, Mori."

"You're welcome, Pelame. Whatever you decide to do from now on, I'll be rooting for you."

The two broke off from their hug. Pelame then climbed onto Latios's back.

"Goodbye, Mori," Pelame said. "Keep up your good Researching work."

"See you later, Pelame," Mori said back. "Good luck."

Latios and Latias flew off. Mori then made his way back to the TIGHS HQ. He went to see Trailblazer, who was very surprised and relieved to see him.

"I knew you and Pelame were okay!" Trailblazer said in excitement. "Great to have you back! By the way, where's Pelame?"

Mori didn't answer to that with words. He gave his boss the envelope. Inside was a note and Pelame's TIGHS ID Card.

_"__To Trailblazer,  
Mori and I found Ogilvie in a small micronation called Stepalas. We tried to save him, but Mustard Jr. attacked, and Ogilvie died during the attack. He saved my life, but at the price of his. We broke our promise to you. I broke my promise to you. I'm very sorry. I don't have the right to face you after this incident, so I'm resigning from TIGHS. Thank you for this job, and I'll miss you and the others. Keep up your good Researching work._

_Sincerely,  
Pelame"_

"…I get it," Trailblazer said solemnly. He looked out the window and up to the sky. "Ogilvie, my pal… thank you… for being a great friend to me, and to Pelame and Mori… go in peace." He then turned back to Mori. "I'll miss him greatly, and Pelame, too."


	30. Pelame's Memories

Chapter 30 – Pelame's Memories

* * *

"Promised Land, you said?" Latias asked to confirm as she and her brother got into the air.

"Yep…" Pelame confirmed.

"Okay. We'll be there in two hours."

The next two hours were spent in total silence, as Pelame was still in a semi-catatonic state of shock over the recent events. The Eon Duo didn't dare disturb her as she was lost in thought. Soon, the destination was reached. Pelame disembarked once the Duo landed in Promised Land's local airport. It was not an international hub, but it did connect to other airports in the Twilight Kingdom. Her house was located fairly far from the airport. She got on the bus that would have her near her neighborhood in about ninety minutes' time. As the bus went on its way, she saw many places familiar to her that she hadn't seen since she moved to Llyria County. The bus dropped her off at her requested stop. From there, she only had five more blocks to walk before she got home.

On her way home, she walked by the Promised Land Park.

_"__Genesis Day 1507…"_ Pelame wistfully remembered. _"The world was so much more stable back then…"_

Focusing back on her journey, she made her way to her home neighborhood. It was just as she remembered it. The children playing in the streets, the adults sharing drinks in their driveways, the street sign reading "Rays Avenue"; she was home. She went down Rays Avenue, to the house numbered 133. With no hesitation whatsoever, she walked up the driveway and rang the doorbell. Even though it was 10:30PM, there was an answer. And the Pokémon answering the door was not tired at all.

"Hello? Who is…" Neve stopped herself in shock when she found that the one at the door was her daughter. "…Pelame?"

"Hi, mom," Pelame said as joyfully as she could. Her effort to hide her sorrow failed.

"Pelame? I thought you'd be in Tradja. Trailblazer's itinerary said so. Then I heard you and Mori went missing—well, anyway, I knew you were alive, and it's great to see you again, sweetie. Welcome home."

"It's good to be back…" Pelame hugged her mother. "It's good to be home… I'm going to bed."

"Already? Pelame, is something wrong?"

Pelame said nothing in response. She went upstairs to where the bedrooms were located and found hers.

"By the way, dad gave you his computer. Just letting you know why it's in there," Neve called from downstairs.

No response came from Pelame. She climbed into her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Tears began to form in her eyes as the events of the past few major incidents flashed in her mind. Ogilvie's death was the most prevalent bad memory.

"Pelame? Honey, is everything okay?" Neve called from beyond the door.

Pelame still didn't respond.

"It's okay. You can tell me whenever you feel comfortable. Just get some rest, okay?"

"…okay, mom. Thanks," Pelame said with her voice trembling. Neve went to her bedroom and got into her own bed.

_"__Why did everything go so wrong?"_ Pelame pondered. She rolled over onto her front and rested her chin on her pillow. She looked out her window, up at the night sky. _"Why is everything getting worse?"_ The tears were flowing freely from her eyes now as the stress of recent events finally drove her past the breaking point. She scrunched her eyes shut and cried loudly in her room. This kept up until she finally fell asleep.

* * *

Eighthmonth passed, and Ninthmonth arrived. It was 9:45AM by the time Pelame awakened, and all through the night, she had had the terrible visions of all the huge Demon incidents replaying in her head. From the attempted bombing of Queen Mkono's Return Ceremony all the way to Ogilvie's death, Pelame just couldn't forget any of it. She buried her head in her pillow and cried again.

"Pelame, what's wrong?" Neve asked when she entered her daughter's bedroom. She climbed onto the bed and comforted her daughter.

"*sniffle* Pocketurn… it… it's g-going crazy…" Pelame sobbed. "Disaster after disaster..." Pelame then explained all of the terrible events that reduced her to this state. "Pain… Ogilvie… WHAT'S NEXT?!" Pelame then wailed into her mother's shoulder as she finished explaining. All Neve could do was hug her daughter back and pat her shoulder to offer her comfort.

"You're safe now, Pelame. And rest assured, things won't keep going this badly. We just need to stay vigilant."

"I know, mom… but… I don't… I don't… *sob* I don't know how much more I can take…"

"Pelame, you aren't alone. You never will be. You've got friends helping you out, and family, too."

"Family?"

"Yep. Your father is giving his support. And I'll join, too."

"…thanks… but, please… be careful… I don't want to lose anyone else…"

"Sweetie, it's gonna take more than some arrogant Pokémon to take _me_ down. But for now, why don't we just take a break from all that?"

"*sniff* that's a good idea… That's what I came here to do. After I relax, I'm going to the Ville to train with the King."

"Okay then. I'll go get breakfast ready. You come on downstairs whenever you're ready." Neve then went downstairs and left Pelame to get ready for the day.

_"__My old homestead…"_ Pelame thought with a hint of happiness. She began by blowing her nose (which had been stuffed by her crying) on a tissue and taking a shower. After she got done brushing her teeth and applying a little bit of deodorant, she joined her mother in the living room, where breakfast was served. Eating her fill of Sitrus Pancakes brought back pleasant memories.

"Wow… how long has it been since I've spent some time here at home?" Pelame wondered.

"Only that time between your graduation and your joining TIGHS," Neve answered.

"Still feels like it's been years. Lots of memories in this great old place…"

"Heh heh… yeah. It was an adjustment for us both. Adjusting to Twilit culture was, to be honest, a bigger adjustment for _me_."

"Ah, yeah! I still remember how weird it was when I heard local adults calling you by your name instead of 'Pelame's Mom'."

"That's right! *hee hee* 'Mom, why are they calling you 'Nee-vay?'' you asked. I have never forgotten that. That was the day you learned my name, and also that it's pronounced 'Nee-e-veh.' But yeah, it sure was strange hearing Pokémon other than my husband calling me by my name."

"I remember other adjustments we—well, mostly you, but still—had to make. Like how child discipline works here."

"Oh, I _knew_ you were gonna bring that incident up! Ah, but it was an important experience…"

* * *

_Neve was driving Pelame home from school, and she was none too pleased with her daughter. When the two got home, Neve went into the house first and quickly locked the door before Pelame got there. Pelame tried to open the door, but couldn't._

_"__You're not getting in for an hour, young lady," Neve called outside._

_Her daughter calmed down after ten minutes. Then, thirty minutes after that, Pinna came inside, bringing Pelame with him._

_"__What are you doing?!" Neve demanded. "You let Pelame in!"_

_"__What was she doing outside?!" Pinna demanded back._

_"__She failed a test she told me she was studying for last night, and she called her teacher a rude term in response to her low grade. I'm punishing her for that!"_

_"__Well, my teacher was wrong anyway—" Pelame started._

_"__Pelame, go to your room!" Pinna ordered. Pelame did so without another word. Pinna then focused back on his wife. "So, let me get this straight; she lied about studying for a test, which by the way, she never told _me_ about, and she called her teacher a rude name?"_

_"__Yes," Neve clarified. "The term she used was 'broad.'"_

_"__Oh, wow. _That's_ mean of her. But for that, you locked her out of the house?!"_

_"__Of course! It's standard punishment! You were always telling me I needed to punish her for misbehavior!"_

_"__Well, yeah… but not like this! And no, that's _not _standard punishment! That's child endangerment!"_

_"__Child endangerment?! Where'd you hear that it was?"_

_"__Uh, honey, _everyone_ knows that! Seriously, what made you think that was a good idea?! Don't you know she could've been abducted?!"_

_"__It is _too_ standard punishment!"_

_"__Where could it _possibly_ be considered standard punishment?!"_

_"__Shizazoto!"_

_Pinna then relented. "…oh. I get it now. Look, honey, you know that the Twilight Kingdom and Shizazoto have different sets of rules and laws. Locking a child out of the house may be standard discipline in Shizazoto, but here, it can get you charged with child endangerment, neglect, and abuse. I sure hope no one saw any of this."_

_Neve then realized the error of her actions. "…oh… sorry… but Pelame can't just get away with this, though. What's standard punishment here?"_

_"__Watch and learn." Pinna escorted Neve upstairs to their daughter's room. He opened the door and found her reading a "Squirtle Squad" comic book. "Put the book down, now," he commanded._

_Pelame angrily did so._

_"__I heard from your mother that you failed a test that you told her you studied for and told me nothing about, and calling your teacher a mean word. Come over here."_

_"__Yes, dad…" Pelame went over to her father and turned her back to him. Pinna then used his tail to give his daughter three smacks on her rear end, making her cry._

_"__One for lying to me, one for lying to your mother, and one for what you called your teacher."_

_"__Honey…!" Neve exclaimed, concerned._

_"__Trust me, darling…" Pinna whispered back to his wife. He focused back on Pelame. "Pelame, sweetie, you can't be lying to us. And you most certainly cannot call your teacher demeaning terms like the one you used today. You behaved very terribly in doing that, so you are grounded for the next two weeks. No more TV, no more video games, no more of these comics of yours, no staying up two hours after dinner, none of that until two weeks have passed." Pinna went and confiscated all of Pelame's favorite books and switched off the surge protector that had her TV, VCR, and game consoles plugged into it. "Now, come down to dinner."_

_Pelame did so with tears in her eyes._

_"__And _that's_ how you discipline a child the Twilit way," Pinna said._

_"__Well, that was very good," Neve said. "But did you have to hit her like that?"_

_"__Well, the thing about spanking a child is…" Pinna gave his wife a smack on her rear to help demonstrate the point he was getting to explaining._

_"__Ouch! What was _that_ for?! I mean, I only barely felt that, but still!"_

_"__That was the amount of force I just put into spanking Pelame. You have to make sure she'll feel it, but you must also make sure it won't cause significant damage to her. The intent is not to actually _hurt _her, you see. It's kinda like a Bug Bite from a wild caterpie; it'll hurt for a little while, but it'll go away quickly."_

_"__I see. Well, I'll keep that in mind."_

_"__And revoking privileges never fails, either. That's the standard for disciplining children here. Understand?"_

_"__Yep."_

_"__Good. So, if I'm not around to discipline here when she misbehaves, just remember what I showed you. And never _ever_ lock her out of the house again."_

_"__Got it, honey."_

* * *

"…Quite an eye-opener, that day was," Neve said.

"Yeah…" Pelame said. "For the first two years we lived here in Promised Land, yours and dad's cultural backgrounds' views on child care and discipline sure caused a lot of arguments between you two."

"Oh, definitely. The time he went off on me for responding to our neighbor's compliments to you by saying you should do better, the many times I went off on him for intervening in any argument you got into with other children and other adults, _all_ of the times we overturned the other's punishment… and then we ended up enrolling in a Child Care class at the local Community Education Center."

"And that was when Grandma Albero started raising me most of the time."

"That's right. And boy was that class an Arceus-send. From then on, no more domestic situations came up."

"And look how well I turned out."

"Definitely."

* * *

Pelame and Neve went to the local pond in the park near their house. It was another location that held a lot of memories for Pelame.

"I wish it were winter…" Pelame lightly complained.

"How come?" Neve asked. "Don't you like summer?"

"Of course I do. It's just that we can't go ice-skating in the summer."

"Who says we can't?"

Neve walked up to the shore of the pond and stuck her head under the water. She took a look around and came back up. "Coast is clear." Neve then glowed with an icy aura and stepped on the water, freezing the spot where she stood. She ran a circle around half of the pond's water and froze it. She then lowered her icy aura, resuming her normal body temperature. "All ready, Pelame!"

"Okay, mom. Let's see if you've still got it!"

"Pretty sure I do!"

Pelame joined her mother on the ice, which she'd made sure to make very slippery.

"You know, if I hadn't been doing this since I was younger, I'd be on my butt right now." Pelame near-effortlessly skated over to her mother. "Well, mom, you'd've caused a lesser skater to slip. Too bad your daughter's a pro."

"Oh, we'll see about that," Neve responded in a playfully challenging manner. She jumped over her daughter and made a perfect landing on all fours. She then used her tail to spin herself around to face her daughter. "Top _that_, why don't you?"

"Seriously, mom?" Pelame taunted. "Right off the bat, you're not even trying!" She reared up on her hind legs and when she came back down, she kicked with her hind legs while standing on her front legs. She kept this seesaw-like motion up for five more intervals. "Got anything better?"

"Well, well, look who's trying to stick to moves that pose no danger of satisfying the losing condition. You know the rule, Pelame: first to land butt-first on the ice loses. Anyway, check _me_ out!" Neve began to hop on just her left hind leg, keeping her balance all throughout the routine. She did thirty hops in place. "Just try it, Pelame!"

"I don't even _need_ to to beat that!" Pelame did a horizontal spinning jump and landed perfectly on the ice. "On the other paw, _that_ will be hard for you to top!"

"On the contrary…" Neve did a vertical spinning jump, making a perfect landing on the ice. "Let me guess: you've got a diagonal one coming up?"

"How about a better trick?" Pelame sprinted forward, jumped, and did a slide on only her right legs. As she got closer to her mother, she switched over to her left legs. "Give up yet?"

"No need to!" Neve shouted in surprise. She noticed what Pelame didn't; her daughter was moving much too fast. She failed to get out of the way in time, and her daughter bumped right into her, sending them both off the edge of the ice and into the water. They both quickly swam up to the surface and shared a good laugh with one another.

"Whew… that was fun!" Neve said. "We need to do that more often!"

"I know!" Pelame agreed joyfully. "I haven't had so much fun in years!"

* * *

After a trip to the movie theatre to see special re-showings of "Paths of Time" and "Jirachi's Final Wish", Pelame and Neve spent the evening at their favorite diner. The local Patratatouille Palate had been the place to go to celebrate all manner of special occasions.

"Ahhh… Patratatouille Palate…" Pelame reminisced. "Nothing not to love here."

"You have no idea how much I've been itching to return here with you, Pelame," Neve said to her daughter as they both decided what to order.

"You made your minds up?" asked the prinplup working as a waiter.

"Yep," Pelame answered. "I'll have a Chople and Apicot-garnished Patratatouille, please. And a Sitrus Soda with it."

"I'll have a Patratatouille garnished with Occa Berries," Neve answered. "Sitrus Soda for me, too. And also…" Neve whispered something to the waiter.

"Coming right up," promised the waiter.

"Huh?" Pelame wondered. "Mom, what'd you say to him?"

"It's a surprise," Neve answered.

"What? What for?"

"Pelame, you can't mean to tell me you forgot what today is?"

"It's Ninthmonth 1st, 1512. So, no, I have not forgotten."

"You got the date right, but what specifically happened this day?"

"Well, it's Emperor Kentahito's birthday today. Speaking of whom, oh boy, wasn't _that_ another fun day? The day he visited our house because of me having the… same… birthday… as…" Pelame slapped one paw to her forehead. "Wooooooooow… I am. A complete _moron_."

"Oh, no, you're not, sweetheart! I know you have lots on your mind."

"Even still, forgetting my own birthday! That's so embarrassing!"

"Well, you didn't completely forget it. You remembered as soon as you remembered who shared a birthday with you. And by the way, I remember that day, too. You were only one year old then."

"But I still remember it like it was yesterday. Ahhh…"

* * *

_In the small Zotoan town of Rogokosoka, Neve had not informed her daughter that she'd be being visited by a surprise guest. So Pelame was a bit freaked out when a mienshao dressed in a green and gold robe and wearing a black and red hat._

_"__Mommy, there's an old guy at our front door," she warned as she ran to her mother._

_"__Oh, there is?" Neve innocently responded. "I'll go get it." She went to the door and answered it. To her very great surprise, it was not just any mienshao at the door. "My Great Emperor!" She bowed. "Pelame, bow," she ordered. Pelame did so without knowing why she needed to._

_"__Rise, please," said the Emperor. "You both remained bowing for a second too long. But that's okay."_

_"__Who's _this_ old codger?" Pelame asked._

_"__Pelame!" Neve chastised. "This happens to be Kentahito, Emperor of Shizazoto!"_

_"__What's an Emperor? Does that mean he's a million years old?"_

_"__A million years old?" Kentahito responded joyfully. "Oh, I'd hate to be able to live that long. Even the usual expectancy of eighty years is too much for me. Heh… I'm actually halfway there. Ahh, 43 years today for me." He looked down at the young eevee girl. "And I hear it's also _your_ birthday today. How old are you?"_

_"__One year!"_

_"__Well, my young one, Happy First Birthday! We both have the same birthday, so I decided to visit you and many others who were born this day."_

_"__Thank you! Do you have a present for me?"_

_"__My presence should be gift enough. Well, that's what one of my conceited ancestors would say, but I _did_ bring you something—"_

_"__Is it money? And why do you have a big moustache?"_

_"__No, it is not money. And these are whiskers. And this is my gift to you." The Emperor gave Pelame a small doll shaped like a mienfoo. "It's a doll made in the image of my daughter and heir, Princess Jurihito. Treasure it well."_

_"__It's cute! Thank you! By the way, what's an Emperor?"_

_"__I am an Emperor. But to answer you, it means I'm the ruler of this country."_

_"__You don't look like a ruler. You look taller than 30 centimeters."_

_Kentahito chuckled at that remark. "Quite an energetic daughter you have here, Pelame's Mom," Kentahito said to Neve. "Is she always like this?"_

_"__Most of the time," Neve answered. "I'm very sorry about this."_

_"__Oh, it's no problem at all. My daughter's not too differ—ouch!"_

_Pelame was tugging on Kentahito's whiskers._

_"__Your moustache is really soft!" She went and did the same to his tail. "So's your tail!"_

_"__I'm glad you think so, too. I must be going now, Pelame."_

_"__Aww… but I was having fun, old man!"_

_"__Me, too. You've been the most fun I've had in a while. Be a good girl now."_

_"__Okay. Bye, Kennaheeo."_

_"__Goodbye, Pelame. And Happy Birthday!"_

* * *

"To think I was so rascally back then," Pelame said. "And that I butchered his name."

"That day really was fun," Neve added. "Thirteen years sure went by fast, huh? You're fourteen and he's fifty-six."

"Wow, he really _is_ an old man!"

At that, Pelame and Neve laughed uproariously as their food arrived. There was a birthday messaged scrawled into Pelame's food.

"Happy Birthday, Pelame."

"Thanks, mom. I love you."

"I love you, too."

The two ate their dinner.

* * *

On the morning of Ninthmonth 2nd, Pelame packed all of her things, including her new Eon Flute. She did her morning hygiene routine, put her backpack on, and greeted her mom in the living room downstairs.

"Okay, mom," Pelame announced. "I'm going to the Ville—" To her surprise, Neve had also packed up. "Mom, are you going somewhere?"

"Of course," Neve answered. "I'm going to the Ville."

"But tour season's over. The Inn isn't going to just give you back your job, will it?"

"I'm not returning for that. Pelame, didn't I tell you yesterday? You're not alone in your battle against the Dark Blessing."

"Mom, you mean…"

"Uh-huh. I'm going with you to the Ville. No more sidelines for me."

"Mom…" Pelame was concerned for her mother's safety, but she couldn't help feeling warm and fuzzy inside at the dedication she was seeing. All she could do to express her feelings was give her mother a hug. "Thank you, mom."


	31. Arriving in the Ville

Chapter 31 – Arriving at the Ville

* * *

It was the afternoon of Ninthmonth 2nd, 1512 in the Ville Du Soleil Couchant. Blessing and Snivy had gotten fully settled into their new house in a neighborhood near the Ville's line dividing the Middle District from the Upper District. It was a tranquil neighborhood with moderately-sized houses, some of which were two stories tall. They had moved into one of the two-story houses. It was house number 467 on Petal Avenue. For now, they had no car to fill their garage with, so public transportation was their only means of travel around town.

"56,000 Pokéns turned out to only be enough for this house, eh?" Blessing asked.

"Appears that way," Snivy answered. "I'm still surprised we even _had_ that much between us in the bank. Anyway, we should determine a bus route that'll take us to the Casino. If we're gonna be working there, assuming we're hired, we're gonna need to know how to get there by public vehicle."

"All right, then. Good thing we're near the Ville Crossroads Station. Let's get going. Interview's in two hours."

* * *

Later in the evening, Pelame and Neve arrived in the Ville. The Eon Duo landed in the Couchant International Airport and let their passengers off.

"Call us again soon!" Latios joyfully said as he and his sister left.

Pelame and her mother ventured into the airport and exited out into the city. To their surprise, Pinna, Valkyrie, and Pugno were also outside. Pelame went and hugged him as he hugged back

"Why, of all places!" Neve greeted her husband as she hugged him.

"Neve?!" Pinna said, surprised. "And Pelame?! When'd _you_ get here?"

"Just minutes ago. How about you three?"

"Same. We just got back from Tradja, actually."

"I saw you and the other missing Pokémon riding on the Eon Duos' backs," Pugno explained. "We called our search off and reported to Keldeo as soon as we confirmed the sight. So, Keldeo had us flown back. Speaking of whom, he should be arriving soon to take us back to the castle. Want to come along?"

"Sure!" Pelame answered. "I need to see the king, anyway."

"Sounds perfect. And here he comes."

A limousine pulled up and opened its door for the arriving parties. The door then shut once everyone boarded and drove to the castle. Keldeo was in the middle section of the limo, where the guests were welcomed. It was being driven by a shiny grovyle.

"I'm curious to know how you and Morikain escaped," Keldeo asked. "We'd heard the Tradjan Government declared you and him dead, so the king permitted a private search party comprised of Pugno, Pinna, and Valkyrie here to go to Tradja and locate you. Only for you to have rescued yourselves. And please don't misunderstand—it's very good that you're safe. I'd just like to know the details."

"*sigh* I hoped not to have to recount this until later…" Pelame said sadly. She then explained about everything that happened in Stepalas.

"…so, Mustard Jr. is _still_ on the loose," Keldeo seethed. "Rest assured, Pelame, that he will pay for his crimes. I gotta admit, though, I do like the sound of that Silence punishment. There's _lots_ of criminals I'd love to do that to. Back to the point, though, I presume you have business at the castle?"

"I do. I need to see the king. I've decided to take him up on his offer to train me in Alpha Power."

"Good choice on your part. But that'll have to wait until tomorrow. The king is in Swadfrieg right now on official diplomatic business. You're welcome to stay in the castle, though, per his orders. Twarkleton will explain more once we get there."

"Sounds good."

* * *

"Game Corner?" Blessing asked once she saw the casino's sign. "Huh… I wonder when the name changed."

"And why, too," Snivy added. "Well, anyway, we've got an interview in ten minutes."

"Then let's do it."

"Wait a second." Snivy looked at Blessing with concern. "You really sure you want to work here?"

"Well, just for now. Why?"

"It's just… casino clientele. They're not exactly wholesome upstanding Pokémon, you know. Some of them might be, but they're hard to find among the cheaters, liars, and lechers. And that latter category flocks, _flocks_, to ladies with your exact figure."

"Wait, is _that_ what you're worried about?"

"That's _exactly_ what I'm worried about."

"Well, thanks for your concern. But I'll be fine. Remember, I've been in jail twice. I've been around worse Pokémon. Lechers would be _much_ better company than murderers."

"Ah… I guess you've got me there. Well, if you're sure about this…"

"Aren't _you_ worried about _yourself_?"

"Not really. Look at me. I'm plain compared to you."

"Oh, you are _not_! At least, not to me. To me, you're beautiful."

"Oh, you're just saying that—"

"No, really. You're beautiful. You really are."

"Well… thanks, Blessing. It means a lot to me."

"No problem, darling. Now, let's ace this interview!"

"Gotcha."

The two ladies went into the Royal District Game Corner (as it was now called for unknown reasons), walking by a huge slew of areas: slot machine areas, roulette areas, craps areas, an area devoted to the pantheon of card games, a stage area for acts, a play area for children, a bar, and a dining area. And those were only the public areas. The two went up to the first employee they could locate.

"Excuse me," Blessing said. "Can you direct us to the manager? We're here for an interview."

"Ah, yes," answered the machop. "He's been expecting you. Follow me." The employee led Blessing and Snivy to a door located on the building's second floor. He knocked on the door. "They're here, sir."

"Send Blessing in first," answered the mysterious boss.

"Okay." The machop opened the door and allowed Blessing in. "He does interviews one at a time, so your friend will have to wait here."

"Good luck, Blessing," Snivy said.

"Thanks," Blessing responded. She entered the room alone. She sat down in the chair facing the desk. A purrloin was seated behind the desk.

"Hello there," he greeted. "I'm Wallis, owner of the Royal District Game Corner. And if my memory of your résumé isn't mistaken, your name is Blessing."

"Yes, I'm Blessing," she responded. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Wallis."

"The pleasure's all mine. Now then, let's get a good look at you." Wallis got out of his chair, and Blessing saw for the first time how abnormally big he was. He was a bit taller than Blessing. She could swear he was the size of a liepard. He walked over to her and examined her from all angles. He grabbed her left arm and took a good look at it, then did the same to her right arm, then her legs, then her head, then her torso. Finally, he examined her behind. "Oooohhh… quite nice…"

"Uh… what are you doing back there?" Blessing asked, feeling uneasy.

Wallis finished examining Blessing and faced her. "Okay, I'll level with you: the moment you walked into my Game Corner, I knew exactly where to put you. I just had to make sure your body would be up to the task. After all, nightly entertainment can be a stressful job."

"Nightly entertainment?"

"Singing, dancing, comedy routines… you name it. That's what you'll be doing here. And believe me, my looker, you will be a big star here!"

"So… does that mean I'm hired?"

"Oh, definitely! You begin tonight. And since this is your first night, an act will be given to you to do. But you can make your own up if you want. Regardless, I know you'll do great. And with an alluring figure like yours, everyone will love love _love_ you to death!"

"Well, I'll do my best. Thanks for this opportunity!"

"No problem!"

Blessing left the office to greet Snivy.

"Wow. That was fast," she commented. "My turn now."

"You can do it, Snivy," Blessing cheered as her girlfriend entered Wallis's office.

"Hello there," Wallis greeted. "I'm Wallis, owner of the Royal District Game Corner. According to your résumé, your name is Snivy, same name as your species."

"That's correct," Snivy answered.

"And you applied for the job of accountant. Well, sorry to say, we don't need one. However, we have a spot open for you: the payout clerk. You'll be distributing earnings to our clientele. Both chips to cash and cash to chips."

"That's perfectly fine with me, Mr. Wallis."

"Glad to hear it. You'll start tomorrow. Good day to you."

"Thank you very much." Snivy left the office and went to see Blessing with the good news.

* * *

Upon arrival at the castle, the limo pulled into a private garage and parked. This was the cue to disembark.

"Thank you, Shortie," Keldeo said to the shiny grovyle.

"My pleasure, Your Honor," Shortie responded, bowing as he took his leave.

"Your 'Honor'?" Pelame asked.

"Oh, I guess I didn't mention this yet," Keldeo said, assuming a proud tone. "As a matter of fact, I have recently been promoted to a new job. No longer am I just Captain Keldeo. I am now also Judge Keldeo—no—_Supreme_ Judge Keldeo! By that, I mean I have judicial jurisdiction in all areas of the Twilight Kingdom. Only the king himself outranks me in that department. Cool, huh?"

"Cool it, Keldeo," said Twarkleton as the traveling party entered the castle grounds. "No need to constantly gloat about your job."

"What are you, Twarkleton, my dad?" Keldeo retorted. Twarkleton ignored him and approached Pelame and her mother.

"Welcome, Pelame. Welcome, Neve," he greeted. "We've been expecting you. The king has instructed us to accommodate you while you stay here training with him. I presume that's why you're here."

"You'd be correct, Mister…" Pelame said.

"Twarkleton. I'm the Grand Vizier to the king. I rule the country in his stead whenever he's absent. This is such a time. The king will be back tomorrow. But even so, this castle is your home, and we will be happy to make your time here as comfortable as possible. The whole castle is open to you, as is the city, including the most prestigious establishments and forums of the Royal District. So please, make yourselves at home."

"Thank you, Mister Twarkleton. Where will my room be?"

"Fourth floor, East Wing. Now then, I have things to do. Call me if you need anything." Twarkleton left.

"Hey, Pelame," Keldeo said. "I know he said the castle's completely open to you, but that's not entirely true. I have a secret training area that I call 'The Tank'. I would greatly appreciate it if you stayed out of there. Okay?"

"Okay. I will."

"Good. Mind you, you'll be allowed in if the king allows it. Anyway, I've got work to do. Pugno, Valk, Pinna, let's get to it."

"Yes, sir!" responded Pinna, Pugno, and Valkyrie. Pugno turned to Pelame and said, "Let's catch up later."

"Deal," Pelame answered.

"So, what shall we do now, Pelame?" Neve asked. "It's up to you."

"Well, let's get settled first, and then go check out the Royal District."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Blessing was feeling a very slight twinge of nervousness among her confidence. As the clock had struck 10:15PM, it was nearly her turn to perform.

"You're new here, huh?" asked a pikachu.

"Y-yeah," Blessing answered. "You could tell?"

"Totally. And I can totally tell why you were hired."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let me put it this way…" The pikachu approached Blessing and pointed to her hips. "T_hose_…" He then pointed to her behind. "…and _that_ are why Wallis hired you. See, he's a blatant womanizer, and he's always looking for an attractive lady to try to win a date with."

"Ah. Well, too bad for him that I have a date already."

"Oooh, better not let him know that. That'll get him more desperate to get into your heart. He's rather stubborn like that. In fact, I think I see him out there in the audience. Yep… right there." The pikachu pointed at the purrloin sitting in the front row. Blessing saw him, too, and also saw someone pleasantly familiar sitting behind him.

_"__Pelame?!"_ she thought happily. She quickly ducked behind the curtain.

"Did he see you?" the pikachu asked.

"No," Blessing answered. "But I saw a friend of mine in the audience. I'd like to surprise her. Well, that is, if she stays through my act without leaving in the middle of it."

"I see. Out of curiosity, what do you have planned for your act?"

"A song and dance number. That's about it. How about you?"

"Eh, my usual daredevil act. See that cannon there?" He pointed to the cannon in the corner of the backstage area. "That's my act. I climb into it, and then try to wriggle out of it before five minutes expire and it shoots me out of it. Some nights, I see if I can get out headfirst with only my arms to help me, or feet-first with only my legs to help me."

"And if you don't escape…?"

"I get shot out of it, obviously—"

"Well, I gathered _that_, but—"

"Oh, no worries there. The cannon doesn't have much powder in it. It can't launch me through a wall or anything like that. It just shoots me into the air and into the audience. Then I give my autograph to whichever lucky audience member I land on."

"That's neat."

"Tonight, I'm trying a new approach. I'm going to see if I can get out of the cannon using only my tail."

"Sounds ambitious. I'll be rooting for you… uh…"

"Darien," the pikachu introduced. "Darien the Adorable Daredevil."

The stage's sound system was audible from anywhere in the stage area, making Darien able to hear the announcement of the next act. He knew this was his cue to not keep Blessing for much longer.

"Looks like you're on now," Darien said. "You'll do great. I know you will."

"Thanks, Darien," Blessing said. She took a deep breath and got herself ready to begin her act.

* * *

"GAME CORNER GAMERS!" shouted an exploud M.C. on the stage. "WE'VE GOT A SPECIAL TREAT FOR YOU TONIGHT! OUR GAME CORNER RECEIVED A NEW TALENT, AND NOW IS HER DEBUT! PLEASE PUT YOUR HANDS, FEET, OR WHATEVER LIMBS YOU HAVE TOGETHER FOR OUR NEWEST TALENT: THE RED FEATHERS OF REFINEMENT!"

As the members of the audience applauded loudly, all Pelame could do was think to herself, _"Blessing?"_

The stage's lights dimmed and focused on an object in the center of the stage's prop wall. It was black and had three red feathers jutting out of it.

"_No. Don't tell me…"_ Pelame thought in annoyance.

The music began playing in a slow and steady rhythm. Blessing then began her newly-written song.

"Red, al-ways vi-si-ble,  
Black, ne-ver vi-si-ble.  
What co-lor do you fo-cus on?  
I hope you see… the best part…"

Blessing then used Slash to cut down the prop wall, revealing herself to the audience.

"…of me!"

She turned herself around to properly face the audience. The music's tempo slightly sped up. She stood slightly hunched over, so as to slightly be able to accentuate her bottom.

"Red! The co-lor that can be seen from,  
ma-ny me-ters a-way!"

As she kept the same standing posture, she turned herself around, giving the cheering audience a three-fourths profile view of her rump. She continued her song.

"Look! Do you see that co-lor now?  
There's three of them right here! They're cute, you say?"

On those last four words, she turned her head to face the audience and winked at them. As she continued singing, she added a hip swivel to her next lines.

"See them go back-and-forth?  
See how they move a-round?"

On those last two words, she moved her rump in a circular motion.

"See how they a-dorn,  
this won-der-ful mooooooouuuuuund?"

On the last drawn-out word, she ran her hands down her back and all the way down to her hips. When her hands reached her hips, she thrust her rump out as far as she could make it reach.

"The red goes great with the black,  
why don't you all take a look?"

She then moved her hands directly onto her bottom.

"The per-fect mix-ture of these colors,  
sends your heart-rate off the hook!"

She reached her right hand upward and brought it down hard on her bottom. The sound and sight of her slapping her own rear drew uproarious applause from the audience. Pelame and Neve remained seated in stunned silence. The act was still not over, though, as the music continued playing. Blessing did high-kicks to the music's beat while she faced the audience. After twenty-five seconds of this, she remained in her current position, right leg still high in the air. She then resumed her song.

"See how the red moves with,  
the kick-ing of the black?"

Blessing stomped her right foot down.

"Keep your eyes there on the prize!"

Blessing then did a backflip and landed on all fours, rear facing the audience. She looked between her arms and legs at the audience and continued her song.

"Think-ing that this is yours,  
and on-ly yours is not wise!"

From her current spot, she stood up on her head, propping herself up with only her hands. She let her rear dangle from that spot.

"You all can look and gaze, but no tou-ching!  
The black and red is mine and mine on-ly!  
Ad-mi-re the per-fect round fi-gure of,  
the best part of my amazing…"

Blessing stood herself back up and concluded her song on a long held note, during which she did a back-and-forth shaking of her rear. She crouched down, coming back up whenever her rear reached as far as it could go in either direction. Every two intervals of this, she turned around to face her rear in the opposite direction, so as to give both the audience and the staff backstage a good chance to look at her behind.

"Bo-dyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

And once she faced the audience one last time, she jumped into the air and landed on the stage rump-first. She broke through a section of the floor, but it was also a prop. The plank was stuck on her rear as she stood back up to take her bow, attempting to shake the plank off as she did so. She then went backstage.

The audience gave a very loud standing ovation to the act they just witnessed. Except for Pelame and Neve, that is, who only lightly applauded only to show respect.

_"__What on Pocketurn did I just watch?!"_ Pelame thought incredulously to herself.

* * *

"Need help with that?" Darien asked, seeing Blessing struggling with the prop plank.

"*hrnph* *Rrrggh* I guess so," she said, straining. "Sheesh. I didn't think it'd stick _this_ tightly to me!"

"Okay. Hold still." Darien grabbed the plank and pulled on it. He placed his foot on Blessing's behind to give himself leverage. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Just get it off already! It's really chafing me!" She placed her hands on the plank and pushed as Darien pulled. With their combined efforts, it finally came off. "*whew* Wow, that feels better. Thanks, Darien."

"No problem. I presume it was supposed to come off when you made your bow?"

"Yep. Guess I jumped too high, huh?"

"Perhaps. Or maybe that prop trapdoor you used was too strong. Regardless, your act was great! I love the part about your 'black and red' being only yours. Totally sounded like you were telling Wallis to keep his lecherous advances away from you. I enjoyed that!"

"Well, that's not what I intended, but, thanks regardless. Are you up next?"

"Yep. I'm always the closing act. I'm on now, actually."

"Then I'll be rooting for you, Darien!" Blessing cheered. "Oh, by the way, how do you fit into that cannon? No offense, but you seem a bit… well…"

"Fat? It's okay, you can say that to me, 'cause it's kinda true. Anyway, watch." Darien went up to his cannon and pressed a switch on it. The barrel of the cannon opened up, allowing him to climb inside. After twenty seconds, it shut itself back to its normal size. His pichu crew members wheeled the loaded cannon onto the stage.

"YOU'VE SEEN HIM ESCAPE THE CANNON WITH JUST HIS ARMS!" the exploud M.C. bellowed. "YOU'VE SEEN HIM ESCAPE THE CANNON WITH JUST HIS FEET! BUT HAVE YOU SEEN HIM ESCAPE FROM THE CANNON WITH JUST HIS TAIL?! WELL, TONIGHT, WE WILL FIND OUT IF HIS TAIL IS AS STRONG AS HIS ARMS AND FEET! PLEASE WELCOME DARIEN, THE ADORABLE DAREDEVIL!"

The cannon was set into its spot. A drumroll began as the fuse was lit. A screen displayed a timer set to five minutes. When the fuse began burning away, the timer began ticking down. For a while, only a yellow lightning-bolt-shaped tail was poking out of the cannon. After thirty seconds passed, Darien managed to get a bit of his bottom out of the cannon. His tail then propped itself against the lip of the cannon and pushed as hard as it could. But nothing was happening. He tried wriggling his rump, which loosened him somewhat. But he stopped moving outward as soon as his thighs were about to reach the outside. There were three minutes and fifty-three seconds remaining by the time he got there. He propped his tail against the cannon lip once again and began pushing again. But once again, no progress was made. A full minute of doing this yielded no results.

_"__This was a bad idea,"_ Darien thought. _"Should've just gone for the feet-first act."_

At the one minute and forty second mark, he still made no progress, no matter how much he wriggled around and pushed. He wouldn't be able to push with his tail anymore, since he ended up getting it wedged between the cannon's lip and his rear. He was now totally helpless to free himself. But he wasn't giving up. He continued to wriggle around. As this was only an act, he wasn't scared. His desperation to escape came solely from the enormous discomfort he was feeling being stuck like this. He was soon relieved of that feeling when the cannon's fuse reached its end and shot him into the air. While in the air, he simply shrugged.

_"__Eh, it was worth a shot,"_ he thought as he came falling down. He ended up landing rump-first onto a seat, making a mildly painful thump. "Ooooooooooooofff… thaaaat'll leave a mark…"

"Whoa! Are you all right?" Pelame asked.

"I'll be fine. I've broken every bone in my body at least once in my life. This is nothing compared to that. Is this your seat?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Then this is yours!" Darien reached into his necklace and took out a crumpled-up photo of himself. "What's your name?"

"Pelame."

"Oh, neat! I'm giving an autograph to the woman who defeated Team Static!" He then made the autograph out to her and gave it to her. "There you go! Have a nice night!"

"Thanks! You too!"

Darien returned to the stage area.

"Wow, what a nice lady she is!"

"You mean Pelame?" Blessing asked.

"Yep."

"'Nice' is putting it lightly. Pelame is so much better than that. Although, even she has her limits. For one thing, I'm sure I'm gonna hear it from her about my act…"


	32. Pelame's Preparations

Chapter 32 – Pelame's Preparations

* * *

It was now the morning of Ninthmonth 3rd, 1512.

"Hee hee hee hee…" Keldeo giggled as Hot Air went before him in the newly-refurbished courtroom. Pugno was serving as the bailiff during this makeshift trial. "Oh, I've been looking forward to seeing _you_ again. So, what made you dare to return here, huh? Couldn't find anyone to agree with you? Failed to get the fan uprising you wanted? Either of those sound plausible to me, but regardless, as Haigsfeld is standing right there, I can assume that whatever you planned regarding _Riptide_'s Twilit dub, you failed to carry out. Eh, but it doesn't matter. As a criminal, failure is your destiny."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just get to the part I know you want to get to," Hot Air said in resignation. "_Riptide_'s back in Haigsfeld's webbed hands, I have no credibility among fans anymore… without those, what do I even have to live for?"

"Oh, absolutely nothing at all. And really, out of all the criminals I've dealt with, you definitely are not even in the top twenty most dangerous. But you are the number one most totally pathetic. I mean, really, a television show—a **_TELEVISION SHOW_**!—drove you to all this! It's like the pettiest of Saturday morning cartoon villains became an actual Pokémon! I actually am in disbelief that someone like you can actually exist! I mean, granted there's _no_ good reason to be a criminal, but in a line of work that has caused me to see such motivations for crime as anger at the government, anger at corporations, anger at the poor states of their own lives, desire for money, desire for illegal substances, et cetera et cetera, please pardon me my laugh at a petty motivation like yours. Seriously… A TELEVISION SHOW!"

Keldeo lost his composure completely by this point. He buried his head on his podium and laughed uproariously until tears started coming out of his eyes.

"*sniff* gimme a sec..." Keldeo resumed laughing at the defendant before him. "A tel… a tel… *snicker* a tele… *snort* television show… *chuckle* was worth… *HAHAHAHA* …completely ruining your life over?!"

"I get the picture…" Hot Air responded.

"*AHAHAHA, ahehehe* *sniff* All right… *whew* okay… you know, all things considered, you're not even worth executing. But even as hilariously pathetic as you are, you're still guilty of arson, attempted insurrection, and one count of attempted murder. That all adds up to 54 years in the dungeon. But you know what? I'm not going to do that, either. Instead, you'll serve those 54 years under house arrest."

"Well, how can I serve house arrest if I don't even have a home here?"

"Simple. You'll live with _him_." Keldeo pointed at Haigsfeld, who was seated in the back of the courtroom. "You _did_ burn his office and department down, after all. Your debt to him will be repaid by way of this sentencing. He will be fully in charge of you, meaning that if he decides to give you a job at Sivik-Ripney's Foreign Localization Department, you will work there and follow his every order, no questions asked. And to make sure you don't try to kill him again nor disobey him in any way…" Keldeo reached under his podium and got out a small pistol that fit into the hole on his right hoof. He pressed a switch on its handle, firing the weapon at Hot Air's forehead. Out of the pistol came a small device of some sort, and it was now embedded in the defendant's head. "_That_ device will let me know. And each such disobedience will earn you another year. Is that understood?"

"Yes."

"Good." Keldeo disequipped his pistol and slammed his hoof on the podium, likely as a substitute for a gavel. "And before you go, let me give you something on behalf of all the _Riptide_ fans you alienated and all the Sivik-Ripney employees you inconvenienced." He walked up to Hot Air and kicked him in the face with his back hooves. "Okay, now I'm fully satisfied. He's yours now, Haigsfeld."

"Yes, Your Honor," Haigsfeld answered as he escorted his new charge out of the courtroom and out of the castle.

_"__Goodness…"_ Haigsfeld thought to himself. _"I never knew Keldeo could be so cruel…"_

"Commit what you just saw to memory, Pugno," Keldeo said. "So as to never forget that criminals aren't to be shown mercy. And from now on, whenever you make an arrest, you may humiliate the incarcerated however you wish."

"Yes, sir," Pugno answered.

* * *

The room Pelame and Neve were given was quite a huge one. They both could swear that the entire second floor of their house back in Promised Land could fit in it. It provided a very comfortable atmosphere for rest and relaxation. Because of this, they both awakened at 10:52AM, although their activity the previous night had added to their fatigue. Neve got up slightly before Pelame did, which meant Pelame was in the process of awakening by the time Neve went to rouse her.

"Iz bregfazz re-ey yed?" Pelame grumbled, still mostly-asleep. She then flopped back down onto her bed. Neve decided against trying to awaken her again. She left the bedroom and began going down the hallway outside. It was then that Keldeo walked by.

"Late start this morning?" he asked innocently.

"A bit," Neve answered. "Pelame's still tuckered out. I'm going to go find the kitchen and bring some breakfast… or brunch, in this case, to her."

"You can leave that to Shortie. He can prepare basically anything." Keldeo walked over to a small speaker mounted on the wall and pressed the button labeled "kitchen."

"Hello?" asked the Pokémon on the other line.

"That's Shortie on the other end," Keldeo whispered to Neve. "Tell him your food order, and he'll make it."

Neve went up to the speaker and spoke into it. "Hello? Is this the kitchen?"

"Yep. This is Shortie. Who is this?"

"I'm Neve, one of the guests staying here in the castle. I'd like to place an order for brunch."

"What'll it be?"

"Just a Leppa Berry Salad, please. Two of them."

"Got it. And where am I taking this to?"

Neve was about to answer, but stopped herself upon realizing she didn't know her exact location. "Where is this, exactly?" she quietly asked Keldeo. Keldeo went up to the speaker.

"Fourth floor of the East Wing, Diamond Room," Keldeo answered for Neve.

"Got it. I'll be there shortly." The call ended there.

"And he means that, by the way. He'll have that salad made in no time at all."

"That's very dedicated service," Neve complimented. "By the way, I see you're wearing judicial robes. Did you just preside over a trial?"

"I certainly did. And boy was it the biggest doozy ever. I sure am glad I let the castle's cameras tape _that_ sentencing! I was just on my way to go rewatch it, actually. And then I'm going to The Tank. If you need anything, send for Benedict or Pugno." Keldeo left the East Wing with a spring in his step. Neve re-entered the Diamond Room to find her daughter wide awake and about to enter the room's personal bathroom.

"Good late morning, mom!" she said happily.

"Good late morning, Pelame!" Neve said, returning the chipper mood. "Getting ready for the day?"

"Yep! The king's gonna be back later today, so I gotta be at my best to greet him!"

"Good thinking, dear. Breakfast is on the way, though. Want to wait a bit?"

"Sure. I'm hungry!"

At that moment, a shiny grovyle came in with two bowls full of Leppa Berry Salad.

"Breakfast is served," he said.

"Thank you!" Pelame said. "Hey, didn't you drive the limo we came here in?"

"Yep. My name is Shortie. I'm the castle's head cook and chauffer."

"Hey, are you okay?" Neve asked, concerned.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Sorry. It's just that… well… there's a burn mark on… well…"

"Oh, this?" Shortie clarified, gesturing toward the burn mark on his rear end. "It's nothing. I got that from a rather careless kitchen mishap years ago. I hadn't been a grovyle for too long when that happened, and it was because I didn't realize my tail was no longer mobile. One careless lean toward the ground with my back to the stove and… whoosh! Away my tail went, and in its place, this scar."

"That's too bad…" Pelame and Neve said sadly.

"Burned all the way down to the root, so it's never growing back. But it's no big deal. Better my tail than a vital body part. Anyway, I'll be happy to serve you while you stay here. Call if you need me." Shortie left the Diamond Room to get on with his cooking job.

"Delicious!" Pelame said, digging into her food. She finished so quickly that Neve was afraid she'd choke on it. She then entered the bathroom. "Be out as soon as I can!" Inside the door was a small closet-sized room with two doors on opposite sides of the room and one more in the central wall opposite the one she entered from. The door on the left was labeled "Bipedal Bathroom", the one on the right was labeled "Quadrupedal Bathroom", and the one across from the entrance door was not labeled. Out of curiosity, she peeked inside the unlabeled door and found three more doors inside. The three extra doors were labeled "Bathroom for those with less than two legs", "Bathroom for those with more than four legs", and "Bathroom for those with no limbs nor telekinetic power".

_"__Wow. Not even hotels have thought _this_ far ahead,"_ Pelame thought to herself, impressed at the foresight. _"I'll just use the Quadrupedal one."_ She backed out of the room and went into the bathroom she had decided on using. Inside, it was nearly as ornate as the main room. The sink and counter was made out of a material she guessed was platinum based on its silvery color and polished sheen. There were two sinks; one for dispensing water and one loaded with mouthwash. On the opposite end was a bathtub and a shower, located near a door labeled "drying room". And there was another door on the far end of the room labeled "toilet".

_"__Just like the bathroom at home,"_ Pelame thought. _"Minus the probably-platinum, of course. And that."_

She took notice of an accommodation she had never seen before. It was a control panel labeled "bathroom settings". She went up to it and saw it had settings for size and weight.

_"__Started to say, this stuff looks too big for me."_

She set the configuration to her size and also checked the box that asked if she had fur. The panel then flashed a light that said "PLEASE EXIT WHILE WE SET UP". She did so. Once she did, the door shut and locked itself behind her. From beyond the door, she could hear lots of mechanical noises. Once the racket finished, the door unlocked itself and she was free to enter. Suddenly, everything inside was just perfect for a Pokémon her size.

"Amazing!" she said, not being able to resist vocalizing her thoughts this time.

As was usual for sinks in bathrooms for quadrupedal Pokémon, the taps were underhead, jutting out from behind the drain. They were tall enough to reach beyond the tallest point of the sink proper, so as to prevent it from becoming a makeshift drain for a full sink. Pelame adjusted the trajectory of the spout and turned the tap on, spraying mouthwash directly into her mouth. She then switched it off once her mouth was sufficiently filled. She then swished it around, gargled it, and spit it out. She then went to the other sink and turned its water on to rinse her mouth out.

_"__Dental hygiene, check!"_

Next, she went into the toilet room.

_"__Good on any place with the decency to tuck the toilet as far away from the bathroom entrance as possible."_

After relieving herself and cleaning up afterward, she went to the shower, opting to wash up quickly. Unlike the sinks, the shower's two taps were overhead. One was for water, and the other had body wash in it. Using the usual combination of both, Pelame got her shower done quickly. She then went into the small room labeled "drying room" and shook all the wetness off of herself. After she left that room, she could hear a sound much like a blowdryer coming from inside. She guessed that was just to dry off the water she just shook off of herself. After applying deodorant to herself along with a small dash of perfume, she was finally ready. She made sure to set the bathroom to her mother's size before leaving.

"All yours, mom!" she announced. "I'm gonna go check the grounds out."

"Okay, Pelame," Neve answered. "Have fun!"

* * *

"All right, _master_," Hot Air said once he and Haigsfeld arrived at the latter's home. "So now that Keldeo gave me to you, just get your fun with me over with."

"Look, although I disagree with how he treated you in court today," Haigsfeld said. "I must admit he was right on the ball about why you had to be punished. And he certainly has a point about you having skewed priorities. I'm as much a fan of _Riptide_ as you are, but you'd never see me being so militant about it. Not to mention that the world is full of other problems. Don't you remember when Selena got abducted by a truly insane fan?"

"How could I forget? He just about got the show cancelled!"

"Well, you should be happy that you helped rescue her. Even if that operation was mostly Pelame's idea. And now, you get to help bring the show back here to the Twilight Kingdom."

"How do you mean?"

"I'm hiring you as a writer for the localization of the show. Just to show you what a fulfilling line of work it can be. Who knows? Maybe you'll learn to like it."

"And maybe a slowpoke can learn to evolve without a shellder. It's not happening. Keldeo can make you make me be a wretched localizer, but he can't make you make me like it."

"I should probably mention that you'll be starting this afternoon. I'll get us some lunch on the way there."

* * *

After about one hour of wandering around the castle, Pelame still hadn't seen a third of it all. Her tour got interrupted by a call over the intercom.

"Pelame? Where are you?" Twarkleton asked.

Pelame stopped in her tracks and went to the nearest speaker.

"I'm here," she answered. "I think I'm in the northwestern wing."

"Is there a library nearby?"

"Yep. I walked by it a little while ago."

"Then you definitely are in the northwestern wing. Anyway, you have a guest waiting in the entry hall for you."

"Okay. I'm on my way."

"Consider it done." Twarkleton ended his call as Pelame set off for the Diamond Room. She ended up running into her mom on the way there.

"Oh! Hey mom!" Pelame said. "I was just looking for you."

"Same here," Neve replied. "I heard Twarkleton call you over the intercom. What's all the fuss?"

"I've got guest. Want to go give a greeting with me?"

"Sure!"

The two went to the entrance hall to greet the guest, who turned out to be Blessing.

"Lose your way?" Blessing asked.

"No. It's just that this castle is heeeeeeyuuuuuuuuge," Pelame vividly answered.

"I could tell that by looking at it from outside, but being inside it… _wow_. It's gotta be about twice as big as Llyria Academy! And—" Blessing sniffed the air. "Is that… Orange Sky I smell?"

"What's that?"

"It's coming from… you, Pelame. Wait a minute—" Blessing's face showed a great amount of surprise. "Pelame! Wherever and however you got that stuff, you gotta share it with me! You just gotta!"

"What are you talking about? What's 'Orange Sky'?"

"That perfume you and your mom are wearing! What else? How'd you get it anyway? Did the king loan you about half the country's economy or something?!"

"No. It's in the Diamond Room's bathroom for quadrupedal Pokémon. It's probably in the other bathrooms, too."

"…you're kidding me. You seriously got access to a bottle of _the_ most valuable and most expensive perfume in the world, for absolutely free?! As in, it's just a toiletry for guests here?!"

"I guess so. But what's the big deal? I mean, how expensive is it?"

"Last I heard, it was 7.6 million Pokéns," Blessing answered.

"For just an average one kilogram bottle?!" Pelame said incredulously.

"Oh, no. An entire kilogram would cost 30 million Pokéns!"

"Well, the bottle in the Diamond Room bathroom is 2 kilograms."

Blessing remained silent, stunned by what Pelame just told her. Then suddenly, she started walking deeper into the castle. Pelame and Neve quickly followed.

"Where are you going?" Neve asked.

"Diamond Room!" Blessing answered, still seemingly entranced. "Where is it?"

* * *

"Sheesh, Blessing, you're gonna pass out!" Pelame warned upon Blessing letting out a very long impressed gasp upon seeing the Diamond Room. She'd been at it for nearly a minute by this point.

"I guess she likes luxury rooms?" Neve guessed.

"Oh, definitely!" Blessing answered, finally finishing her elated reaction. "So, where's the perfume at?"

"The bathrooms," Pelame said. "Didn't I tell you that already?"

"Cool! I'm there!" Blessing went to the bathroom area. From inside, Pelame and Neve could hear Blessing squeal in excitement.

"I guess she found the perfume she was looking for," Pelame said to her mother.

"Sounds like it," Neve agreed. "She must be in Paradise right now."

"Everything okay?" Pugno asked, entering the Diamond Room.

"Everything's fine, Pugno," Pelame answered. "How's patrol going?"

"We're all safe. No danger to report. It's a bit slow now, so Keldeo let me have a break." Pugno sat down on one of the chairs at the table. Pelame took the seat next to him.

"It sure is great to see you again. I've really missed you, Pugno."

"Same here, Pelame."

"Wow! Even the bathroom is luxurious!" Blessing said upon entering the main room. "How do I look?"

"Great, as usual," Pelame answered. "Though you look a tiny bit wet."

"I had a feeling I missed a spot…"

"Wait, were you just in the shower?"

"Yep."

"It only took you three minutes to shower?"

"Uh-huh. Two minutes to relieve myself, and one minute to shower. You learn to get your bathroom stuff done quickly when you're in jail."

"…gross. So, where's Snivy?"

"At work. She started today. She deals money and chips at the Game Corner."

"Do you work tonight?"

"Nope. Tomorrow night, I do, though."

"Let me guess: you're gonna shake your butt on stage again like you did last night?" Pugno guessed.

"Probably. Pelame told you about that, eh?"

"Nope. One of the other guards did and told the whole Royal Guard about it. I wasn't surprised in the least to hear about it."

"And _I_ had to see it for myself," Pelame added. "And so did my mom."

"I hope you weren't like that in your college years," Neve added.

"She was, mom."

"Yep, I was," Blessing said. "And I'm proud of it. I've been given the gift of a truly gorgeous figure, after all. My butt being the best part of me, of course. And now, it's literally my moneymaker!"

Pelame and Pugno both gave exasperated sighs. Neve simply shook her head.

"Well, Blessing," Pelame continued. "All I can say at this point is, don't overuse it. It could get you into trouble someday."

"Doubt that. As much as I love glorifying my remarkable rear, I don't want to be kept waiting any longer: how's TIGHS?"

"I was just about to ask that myself," Pugno said. "I've been itching to hear all about it."

"Well… you see…" Pelame began. She then proceeded to fill them in on all of the details of her time in TIGHS, all of the good and all of the bad.

"That's rough…" Blessing responded with sympathy.

"That's unbelievable…" Pugno added in a similar tone.

"And that's why I returned here," Pelame said after finishing her story. "King Kangaskhan II is the only one who can help me now."

"Well, you don't have too much longer to wait. We at the Guard received word that the king boarded his plane back here about two hours ago. He should be back fairly soon."

"Thank goodness…"

"So… any ideas on what to do in the meantime?" Blessing asked. "And also, I'd like to take a bottle of Orange Sky back home with me as a souvenir. Think that'd be okay?"

"You'll have to ask Mr. Twarkleton about that. Don't be surprised if he refuses. Anyway, there's lots to do here in the castle. We've got training areas, rumpus rooms—Blessing, do _not_ make a joke about that—"

"Wasn't gonna."

"—entertainment rooms, a private movie theater, many, many dining rooms, the concert hall, the ballroom… you name it. And actually, I was going to the concert hall. The Royal Orchestra's doing a Sivik-Ripney special tonight."

"Is _Jirachi's Final Wish_ on the program?" Pelame asked excitedly.

"It's possible. Want to come along?"

"Sure! When is it?"

"About half an hour from now. Which means there's time for us to get some good seats."

"Deal! Want to come along, Blessing?"

"Might as well. I'd get lost in this city of a castle without you two, anyway."

* * *

The time was now 5:26PM, and the special concert had just concluded.

"That was breathtaking…" Pelame said wistfully.

"Indeed," Pugno added. "The _Jirachi's Final Wish_ section sure brought back memories, huh?"

"Our first date, when we went to see that movie on its opening night. Hard to believe how long it's been since then."

"Time sure flies—"

The conversation was interrupted by an explosion in the distance.

"What the—" Blessing said.

"That's weird. Keldeo wasn't planning on training anyone with RPGs until tomorrow—"

Another explosion was heard.

"What's going on out there?" Neve asked, concerned. "Is somebody shooting off fireworks?"

Yet another explosion went off.

"Pelame, you okay?" Blessing asked, noticing how tense her friend suddenly got.

"…he's here…!" Pelame said apprehensively.

"Who's here?"

Without another word, Pelame took off running. Her friends and her mother quickly followed. Just then, the castle's alarm system was activated and began blaring.

"Can't get away from me, can you?" Mustard Jr. taunted once Pelame came into his view. They met on the western battlements.

"You killed Ogilvie back in Tradja," Pelame said, enraged. "You are going to pay for that!"

"Well, well, you're still under the mistaken impression that you can defeat me, I see. Your disastrous results against me last time have done nothing to change that mindset. But this time, it appears you have no help this time, so when I win, you shall no longer bother me."

"You will not escape this time, Mustard."

"Hmph… calling me by my foolish father's name has only sealed your fate." The skuntank's tail opened up, and Pelame knew what was coming. She dodged it skillfully. She put an Alpha Barrier behind herself, causing the explosion to push her forward and give her momentum for an attack. As she flew forward at her opponent, she tossed a Swift attack at him, hitting him in the face. Mustard Jr. retaliated with a Flamethrower. It hit another Alpha Barrier Pelame put in front of herself, sending her up into the air. She landed roughly, getting up just in time to dodge another Explosion attack. Suddenly, two Ice Beams hit Mustard Jr.'s tail, freezing it solid. Neve and Blessing had launched a cooperative attack once they caught up to Pelame. Pugno then lashed out with a Power-Up Punch to the skuntank's mouth.

"That's for the Elite Nine!" Pugno quipped.

"Heh, I'll go back to finish them off once I'm done with that brat over there!" Mustard Jr. taunted. He sliced Pugno's leg with his frozen tail, then melted the ice with his Flamethrower.

"GET AWAY, PUGNO!" Pelame screamed. "HE CAN SHOOT OUT EXPLOSIONS!"

"She's right!" Mustard Jr. demonstrated. Pugno got out of the way, but the force of the blast sent him hurtling back, off the edge of the battlements. He wasn't hurt too badly from the fall, but he was momentarily incapacitated. This gave the skuntank terrorist a chance to attack him. Pelame snatched his tail with an Alpha Cord and pulled it away just before he fired, sending his explosion harmlessly up to the sky.

"Go help Pugno!" Pinna ordered, arriving on the scene. "Keldeo, Valk, and I will hold this jerk off!"

"Be careful…" Pelame said, worried.

"I'll go with you, Pelame!" Blessing volunteered. The two were off to the ground to help the fallen guard.

"I'm okay," Pugno reassured once the two reached him. "I take it that's the one who killed Ogilvie?"

"Yes," Pelame answered angrily. "He needs to be stopped."

"He's really powerful. We need a new plan."

Another explosion went off on the battlements, knocking loose some rubble. Pelame, Pugno, and Blessing ran out of the way of it. Soon, Mustard Jr. jumped off the edge of the battlements and met with the three on the grounds.

"Soooo… that plan?" Blessing asked.

"I know this is very unlike me, but for now, run!" Pugno ordered. He led Pelame and Blessing inside the battlements. "Let's find the tunnel system! We'll lead him there, and blindside him! Right there!" Pugno pointed toward a small opening. "You two go in there! I can't fit, but you two can. I'll distract him and lead him into a bigger entrance."

"Got it!" Pelame replied. "Good luck, Pugno!"

"We'll get him, Pelame. Don't worry." Pugno was then off. Pelame and Blessing crawled into the small hole leading to the castle's underground tunnels.

"Oooh… even the basement's huge!" Blessing said, impressed.

"Marvel at it later!" Pelame ordered. "We need to go further in!" The two ventured further into the basement, navigating its many twists and turns.

"How much further does this go?!" Blessing complained. Just then, an explosion hit further back, shaking a bit of rubble from the ceiling loose.

"He's catching up!"

"I can tell! Let's go through there!" Blessing pointed toward a small vent in the wall. She climbed up to it and entered it, but then found that she stopped moving forward. She pulled with her hands, but that wasn't helping. "Of all times for this to happen… Pelame, give me a paw here! I'm stuck!" She tried pushing herself out with her legs, but that didn't help, either. "Pelame! Help me!"

"Hold still!" Pelame said. "Quit kicking!" Blessing did so, allowing Pelame to attach an Alpha Cord to her sneasel friend's legs.

"You know, Pelame, you can tie that to my hips. It's not like you're actually touching my butt. Besides, we're kinda in a life-or-death situation here."

"Not the time, Blessing!" Pelame pulled as hard as she could, but her friend wasn't budging. "Gosh, you're really _wedged_ in there! Why'd you have to climb into there?"

"Just trying to escape from a terrorist! And seriously, Pelame, just tie that Alpha Cord around my waist! You'll get better leverage! Plus, you're hurting my legs!"

"All right, all right! Yeesh!" Pelame undid the cord from Blessing's legs and attached a new one to her waist.

"And Pelame, promise me you won't say that you told me so."

"What are you talking about?"

"You told me my butt could get me into trouble one day, and now it did. I'm stuck, and with a terrorist loose on the grounds! Sorry to rush you, but get me out of here already!"

"I'm trying!" Pelame pulled again, having no more luck than before. "It's no use. Stay there."

"That'll be easy. But why?"

"I'm finding the other way into there and pushing you out."

"But what is Mustard Jr. catches up to you, or finds my butt dangling there?"

"Neither will happen. I'll be there soon." Pelame began seeking a path, but ran into Mustard Jr. immediately.

"Thought you could escape?" he taunted. "That's what your pathetic friend thought."

"You didn't…"

"Not yet, but I will. For now, you'll do. Same goes for your shapely friend there."

"Oh, bite me!" Blessing said from where she was. She continued her own efforts to escape from being stuck.

Mustard Jr. fired another explosion at Pelame, which she blocked. He then launched another Flamethrower, which also hit her Alpha Barrier, but was spread by it, burning Blessing's behind.

"I'll get you for that!" Blessing vowed. She shook her rear from side to side, trying to extinguish the flame burning it.

Another explosion was fired. It bounced off the Barrier and went to the ceiling, blasting a hole in it. It led to the grounds. The hole Blessing was stuck in was made bigger by rubble around it falling off. She was finally able to slip out. She immediately sat on the ground and rubbed her behind on it to put out the flame. All the fur there had been burned off, exposing the skin there. Her tail feathers were also gone. From the grounds, peering down into the hole the terrorist made, Pugno tossed an Aura Sphere at Mustard Jr., hitting him directly. He then lowered a rope down for Pelame and Blessing. They both climbed up. Once they reached the grounds, they found Keldeo, Valkyrie, and Pinna there, battered and bruised. Mustard Jr. suddenly jumped out of the hole and sprayed a mysterious liquid from his tail. He sprayed it all around the grounds and then shot out an explosion at it. The liquid exploded with it, making a big chain reaction that brought down the wall. Though Pelame, Pinna, Neve, Pugno, and Valkyrie were decently far from the wall when it happened, Keldeo and Blessing weren't. Keldeo got buried under the rubble with only his tail poking out of it. One large stone landed on Blessing's rear, pinning her under it. Pelame went to help her friend, but was then shot at with another explosion. Pelame was late to get her guard up in time to block it without harm. The extra-close proximity harmed her and her friends greatly. Pelame lost the energy to stand, and nobody else could, either.

"Too bad, Pelame," Mustard Jr. taunted. "Even for the honor of a fallen friend, you couldn't win. Now then, goodbye."

Mustard Jr.'s tail opened up. Pelame scrunched her eyes shut, prepared for her death.

_"__I couldn't beat him…"_ she thought. _"I've failed…"_

Mustard Jr. fired at Pelame. The explosion landed.

When Pelame opened her eyes, she was surprised to find she was still alive. She looked up and saw King Kangaskhan II standing between her and Mustard Jr. He had blocked the attack that would've surely killed her. He them slammed his tail onto the ground, using Earthquake on the evil skuntank. While Mustard Jr. was reeling, the king shot a Hyper Beam at him from his eyes. And finally, he charged forth with a Giga Impact, sending Mustard Jr. crashing into the wall. He then wrapped the foe in an Alpha Cord.

"Now's your chance, Pelame!" said the king. "Purify him!"

"Okay!" Pelame responded. She dragged herself forward and placed a paw on her foe's face. Her Alpha Sigil glowed as she began to Purify the Demon-type skuntank before her. The Dark Blessings residing in his spirit were strong, and were beginning to overwhelm her. Her entire body and soul were in terrible pain as a result. She felt like both were fading away. Even here, she was losing. But suddenly, the Dark Blessings were being pushed back. She then saw that her father was helping Purify them. Together, they were able to do just that, and at long last, Mustard Jr. was Purified.


	33. Alpha Practice

Chapter 33 – Alpha Practice

* * *

"Yes, for the googolplex…th time, it will grow back!" the miltank doctor said in annoyance. "And so will your tail feathers!"

"Gosh, just making sure…" Blessing lamented. She and Keldeo were both in the castle's E.R., being treated for broken bones. Blessing was situated with her rear pointing straight up in the air, as that part of her body had taken the most damage from the earlier attack.

"But since your tailbone's been broken, you'll have to remain here. And please don't be as difficult about it as the captain/judge over there." He gestured toward Keldeo, whose body was completely bandaged up and casted. "Now then, I'm going to need you to hold still. I'm going to apply burn relief gel to you, and it will sting and feel very cold for a little while."

"Just get it over with. I'm already feeling humiliated enough."

"As it's a special mixture of my own making that I ran out of recently, I'll go prepare it. In the meantime, you have a visitor. I'll leave you two be while I make the gel." The miltank doctor left after pulling out a wall to separate Blessing's area from Keldeo's. Once he left, Snivy entered with a plastic bag full of snack foods.

"Hey there, Snivy," Blessing greeted happily. "How was work?"

"Hectic," Snivy answered. "So glad to be off, and I'm honestly beginning to regret getting the job. And just after one day, too. I came straight here once I saw you weren't home."

"Good thing I told you I was coming here. Sorry to have worried you."

"What happened, anyway?"

"Mustard Jr. happened. He blew a lot of stuff up and, well…" Blessing pointed to her bare and burned bottom. "Gave my butt an unwelcome makeover."

"Gosh… even though I'm only looking at it, I can practically feel it myself."

"Not only that, but when Mustard Jr. destroyed one of the walls, one of the pieces of rubble landed on me and broke my tailbone. I'm not gonna be able to walk for a while."

"Ouch… hopefully, Wallis allows you the time to recover. Want me to ask him?"

"Nah, I'll ask for a phone and do it myself."

"Does it hurt?"

"A little. I'm boiling hot, for one thing, like I'm sitting in a frying pan full of boiling water. The doctor's coming back with a burn relief concoction of some kind. Not sure if he'll let you stay once he returns."

"We'll see. You know, I just noticed something."

"What is it?"

"Since your butt got burned bald, I can see where Wynaut put that Everstone."

"Ah, well, that's an embarrassing memory… heh, you know, the doctor hasn't mentioned anything about it."

"I still remember our thought process when we decided to implant that Everstone there. We just wanted to humiliate you."

"I'd say it worked for a little while. Still, that scar manages not to ruin the beauty of my perfect butt. Of course, whenever it looks perfect, that is. By that I mean when it's not bald like this. But anyway, I'm still in disbelief that we were ever enemies. And now, you're a treasure to me. Hey… come to think of it… treasure…"

"What about treasure?"

"Well, you think it'd be okay to call you that from now on?"

"Wha… as in, make that my name?"

"Sure. Want to?"

"Well, 'treasure' _does_ have a nice ring to it, considering my money skills. Also, it kinda matches with _your_ name when it comes to terms that can mean something precious. You know what? Sure! I'll change my name to that!"

"Cool! It really does suit you!"

"Okay, formula's made!" said the doctor once he reentered. "Which means visiting time is over. Young lady, you'll have to leave for now."

"See you later, Blessing! Get well soon!" Treasure wished as she left.

"See you later, Treasure! Thanks for coming by!" Blessing said with gratitude.

"Did you have a nice visit?" the doctor asked.

"Yep. I'm dating her, by the way."

"Even though you're a woman yourself?"

"Yep."

"That's quite interesting. She's welcome here, then, as long as I'm not currently tending to you. Speaking of which, time to cool your butt off. Now, as I warned, it's gonna sting and freeze for a bit."

"Yeah, I heard."

The doctor scooped up a handful of his custom-made gel and rubbed it onto both of his hands. He then applied it to the sneasel patient's upturned rear.

"*WHOOOOOF* YEOW! Whoa! You weren't kidding around!" Blessing was miraculously able to hold completely still. "I bet you're enjoying this, running your hands all over my butt."

"Well, this line of work requires me to do such things. It sure does make me uncomfortable sometimes."

"Heh, that's some impressive integrity on your part. My boss Wallis would be all over this chance to ogle me."

"Well, that guy's a miserable creep, anyway. All of the Royal District knows it."

"I got that impression. No way does he have a chance with me, though—oh, are we done already?" Blessing noticed that the doctor was finished applying the burn relief.

"Yep."

"And it was starting to feel comfortable, too…"

"Well, I'll have to re-apply it later. For now, just get some rest."

* * *

The next day, Pelame had made a full recovery from her injuries. She returned to the Diamond Room to freshen herself up for her meeting with the king. She ate breakfast with her mother.

"Are you feeling okay, Pelame?" Neve asked.

"Yeah, just a little nervous," Pelame answered. "Considering who I'll be talking to, it's probably inevitable."

"You'll be fine. Just remember that he's here to help you. And so are your family and friends."

"You know, why don't you and dad train along with me? You're both Alphas, too."

"That's… actually a brilliant idea. But just for today, you should train with him. Besides, he might not oblige a request to train more Alphas than just you."

"I'll ask him, though. It never hurts to."

"You're right about that. Well, good luck, Pelame. I'm rootin' for you."

"Thanks, mom." Pelame gave Neve a quick hug and then set off for the king's throne room, situated on the eighth floor of the castle's northernmost tower. She was let in by Twarkleton. Two more floors were above where the throne room was located, but from where the throne room actually was, it allowed for a marvelous view of the Ville and of the Arceus Monument on the mountaintop. She bowed before her king. The king had on his royal clothing, which consisted of a grey coat lined with golden yellow buckles. Under that was an orange-brown undershirt that nearly blended in with his natural stomach skin color. It had golden yellow buttons on it and a black sash draped over it, presumably going up to just under his left arm. He also had on an orange coronet topped with the Twilight Kingdom's national sigil. The crown was just the size of his head.

"It's very nice to see you again, Pelame," said King Kangaskhan II. "You may rise now." Pelame did so. "We last met in Shizazoto, if I recall correctly."

"That's right, sire," Pelame answered. "You were there on a diplomatic errand with Emperor Kentahito."

"Indeed I was. And unfortunately, the summit I had in Swadfrieg was no more successful than the one I ran in Shizazoto. I just hope they know what they're doing…"

"Why are they refusing your offers for help?"

"They might not be aware of the Dark Blessing's true nature. Either that, or they don't view it as seriously as you and I do. Lower Demon-type activity seems to have lulled them into a feeling of security, a feeling that is utterly false. The Dark Blessing is a more cunning foe than they're aware of."

"Yes, and it's also a stronger foe than anyone thought. And the closer we get to Genesis Day, the stronger it gets. I only have until then to destroy it completely, because… if I don't, then… then…" Pelame shut her eyes and shuddered. "I don't want to think about it! It's too scary! I don't want it to win!" She opened her eyes and looked directly into the king's. "Sire, please! You're my only hope now! I need you to train me in Alpha Power!"

"And so I will."

"Really?!" Pelame felt very happy and relieved to hear that.

"Yes. Pocketurn's dire situation is getting worse, but you can do something about it. You must become stronger, and I can help you with that. Pelame, let me show you something very important. Do you feel like taking a little trip today?"

"To where?"

"Just to the Arceus Monument on the peak of Mount Twilight."

"Oh, I can manage that."

"Very good. Because there, I will share a very important bit of information to you. And before we go, I want you to give me your word that you will not share any information about what you are going to see in there or hear from me in there. Is that clear?"

"Definitely. But what if the Dark Blessing gains the ability to probe minds?"

"It won't be able to penetrate yours. You're its worst enemy. So, whenever you're ready, we can set out."

"I'm ready now. I'll let my friends and family know on our way out if we see them."

* * *

The hike up Mount Twilight was full of no excitement whatsoever, much to Pelame's relief. On the way up, she told the king about all of her adventures concerning the Dark Blessing. Everything from the Team Static incident to the many incidents she encountered while working in TIGHS. The king was fully filled in on all the details leading to her decision to seek him out for training.

"To think an innocent and kind woman your age had to experience such trauma," the king lamented. "The world really is slipping into insanity…"

"Yeah… I just want it all to end," Pelame said. "I just want things to be normal and safe again."

"We've arrived."

Pelame and the king stood at the base of the Arceus Monument on Mount Twilight's peak. The king approached it and placed his hand upon it. The Alpha Sigil on the back of his head glowed, and the panel he was touching responded. It then opened like a door, allowing him and Pelame in.

"Follow me."

His Alpha Sigil lit the way inside. The stairs went up for what felt like kilometers until finally.

"This is as far as we can go, unfortunately. See?" He pointed at the dark crystals growing on the doorway they stood in front of.

"Mortite…" Pelame said. She stepped forth and activated her own Alpha Power. The Mortite barely responded. She tossed an attack at it, which broke a section of it off. But as quickly as it fell off, it regenerated. Pelame tossed a consecutive string of attacks at it until she tired herself out. Her outburst destroyed a decently big section of the Mortite, but it all regenerated once she stopped attacking. "It's no use…"

"And my own Alpha Power can't make it recede like yours can," the king said.

"What's in there? It has to be important, something that the Dark Blessing fears."

"There is indeed something important in there. Before I tell you, though, first tell me what you know about Pocketurn's World Leaders."

Pelame smiled a bit at that query. "Haven't been history tested in a while…" she chuckled. "Well, other than the obvious part of ruling Pocketurn's six countries, the World Leaders are a very special class of Alpha-types. And actually, I, like everyone in the world for many centuries, thought the World Leaders were the only Alphas. Because, until recently, they were. Even then though, there is one thing about you, Emperor Kentahito, Queen Mkono, President Cadence, Sultan Rajukh, and Kaiser Ottovon that makes you all stand out among all the other Alphas."

"Correct so far. And what would that standout thing be?"

"As we all know, Pocketurn is part of the Mortal Plane of Existence. And of all places in the Mortal Realm, Pocketurn is closest to the Immortal Realm. Which is why Pocketurn has many things in common with the Immortal Realm, including the Boundary Holders. And that is what Pocketurn's World Leaders are: the Holders of the Mortal Realm's side of the Boundary between the Planes of Existence. That power gets passed onto the next ruler upon said new ruler's inauguration. Whether it be a passing of the crown, being sworn into office—as Pumbloomberg's case is, being a democracy—, substitute official coming into power as a result of a World Leader being assassinated, you name it. However, the only situation where a World Leader's power will not be relinquished is if a nation is forcefully taken over. Windie the Conqueror learned that the hard way, as did a great number of Kentahito's predecessors. Because while the Mortal Realm's inhabitants may recognize a nation as being taken over and therefore basically erased, the Immortal Realm, particularly those in charge of Alpha Power itself, don't."

"Precisely. I can see why Trailblazer was so happy to have you in his guild. You really do know your facts."

"Hee heee hee…" Pelame blushed at the king's compliment.

"But that is all anyone has been allowed to know."

"Huh?"

"And this is the part that you are not to share with anyone. In fact, what I am about to share with you shouldn't even be shared to anyone outside of the Royal Family. Seriously, not even Twarkleton and Keldeo, Pokémon I would trust with my life, know about this."

"Then, why are you willing to share it with me?"

"The sheer magnitude of Pocketurn's lethal situation leaves me no other choice, since you can do something about it. Now, listen carefully."

"You have my full attention." Pelame sat down on the ground as the king did the same.

"This Mortite is growing here to prevent me from gaining access to a very important artifact hidden inside. Inside there is a shrine, within which is an item known as the Request Stone. It is one of six identical stones given only to Pocketurn's World Leaders."

"What exactly does it do? Its name gives me a theory, but with these kinds of things, you never do really know."

"That's a good instinct you have there, Pelame. And you'd be right; it doesn't completely live up to its name. It does not function like Jirachi used to be able to before Taiyang made his wish. Instead of granting wishes, or requests as the case is, it gives a World Leader the means to accomplish his or her own desires."

"So, if you were to wish for the Dark Blessing's destruction, it'd make you able to fight it?"

"Exactly."

"And it knows that. And that's why it blocked your way to the stone."

"Yes. And as mine is the last one remaining in the entire world, there's no other choice but to somehow get inside. So, in summation, as much as you need my help, I also need yours, Pelame."

"Well then, I'd be happy to give you my cooperation."

"That's good. And once we get the Request Stone, I will not be able to use it here. I must take it to a special place. As you told me, we World Leaders maintain half of the Boundary Between the Planes of Existence. Before that Boundary was instated, there were six gates to and from the Immortal Realm, one gate per country. I will have to take the Request Stone to the Twilight Kingdom's gate, or rather, the place that used to be its gate. It's still possible to communicate with the Immortal Realm from there, and in fact, the Request Stone sends the appeal made to it to the Immortal Realm. From there, the request is fulfilled. And Pelame, I will need you to accompany me there when that time comes."

"Oh, I will. But where is this place?"

"It's only natural that you wouldn't know. After all, until now, it was a royal secret. But considering the dire situation, I'll tell you this, too: it's in Promised Land."

"My home?!" Pelame asked, shocked. "My hometown has a former gate to the Immortal Realm?!"

"Yes. It's in a secret location, so nobody living there would've ever found it no matter how hard they looked. You'll see it once we have the Request Stone."

"I see. You know, I gotta admit that having a former Realm gate sure gives Promised Land a good reason to have that name."

"Oh, indeed." The king rose to his feet. "So, now that you know our mission, can I count on your full cooperation as much as you can count on mine?"

"Yes, sire," Pelame said, rising to her feet.

"But I must warn you now: now that we are in full cooperation, we will be targets for the Dark Blessing. It is going to do everything it possibly can to stop us. It will create Mystery Dungeons anywhere it thinks we'll be going—and already has made a few in this very city, actually—, gain more pawns, and even be able to generate phantom images in the shapes and powers of Pokémon within Mystery Dungeons. Will you be willing to take on such dangers?"

"Y-yes… it scares me, but for Pocketurn, I'll do it."

"And you won't do it alone. I will be by your side. But I regret to inform you that I will be the only help you will have while we train. Because when the time of us getting the Request Stone comes, it can only be us who makes the journey to Promised Land."

"I see. Thank you, sire."

"Then, we have a deal?"

"Yes, we do, sire." Pelame offered her paw to the king. He knelt down and grabbed Pelame's paw, shaking it as lightly as he could (to compensate for being much bigger than her).

* * *

"Urgh… To think that under Keldeo's orders, I had something to do with this…" Hot Air lamented once the first two episodes of the Twilit dub of _Riptide_ aired on TV that night.

"Think of it this way: you get to take some of the credit of any positive feedback the show gets," Haigsfeld reassured.

"But I never wanted to be anywhere _near_ this awful thing!"

"Be that as it may, this is your job now. And I must say that I'm impressed that we got those episodes done in just one night."

"Well, you did them already before I rightfully destroyed them all. You were just working from memory. Once we get past the point you reached before, what then?"

"Well, our dub won't end, if that's what you're hoping."

Just then, the apartment's front door opened. A vullaby entered the building.

"Whew… never again am I signing up for weeks-long field trips…" the vullaby said with lots of fatigue. "Great to see you again, Uncle H."

"Welcome back, Malerie," Haigsfeld greeted. "How did your trip go?"

"It was fun, but it sure made me miss home. I hope grad night won't be as long. I'm so tired, so I'm going to bed. 'night, Uncle H."

"Good night, Malerie."

Malerie went to her room and fell instantly asleep.

"Wow, did she seriously not notice me at all?" Hot Air wondered. "And also, I'm now a bit afraid now that I know you're raising a child who apparently isn't yours. Who is she, anyway?"

"That's my niece, Malerie," Haigsfeld answered. "She began her senior year over at Indigo Clouds High School down in the Middle District two weeks ago, and right off the bat, they went on a field trip exploring the country's colleges. Everywhere from Llyria Academy to Westset State."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, why's she not with her real parents?"

"Because her real parents aren't fit to raise a child. They did nothing for her, and eventually got arrested for child neglect, and custody got transferred to her grandmother, who also happens to be my mother-in-law. And from there… well… I can't say now. It's a truly painful memory."

"Well, too bad she ended up here with you, regardless."

"If you only knew… you'd take that comment back in an instant. Let's just get some rest. We have lots to do tomorrow."

* * *

The date was now Ninthmonth 5th. Pelame met the king in his throne room, ready to begin her training.

"You've sure got the punctuality required for this," complimented the king. "Well done."

"Thanks, sire," Pelame replied. "So, what's on the program today?"

"Actually, today, we're training by doing a job for the city. I'm not sure if you know, but the International Television Convention is going to occur at the Upper District Convention Center this weekend. But a report came in saying that the center is being overrun with dangerous Pokémon, which leads me to think that the center has become a Mystery Dungeon. We are going to go investigate the center to see if those rumors are true. Are you willing to accompany me on this task?"

"Of course, sire! After all, my friend Torden's been itching to go to this convention. I'd hate for him to miss it because of the Dark Blessing ruining everything."

"It makes me happy to hear that. As soon as you're ready, we will be off."

* * *

_"__Thank goodness for my sturdy and fast-healing body,"_ Keldeo thought to himself as he went down to the dungeon's Execution Pool Room. There, he found Pugno and Pinna there with Mustard Jr. chained up and with iron shoes on all four of his feet.

"I kept him here, just as you ordered, sir," Pugno said.

"Good," Keldeo replied. "I already taught Pinna how to do this, so now it's your turn to learn to execute dangerous criminals, Pugno. I believe you're familiar with the controls here. Correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then I'll just skip all that. When I give the order, you'll just operate them. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay. Now then, time to exact some justice. Place him on the platform."

"Yes, sir." Pugno and Pinna both pushed Mustard Jr. onto the diving board-like platform. They backed off of it once they got the prisoner situated. Thinking ahead, Pugno activated the city's warning system to notify everyone in the Ville of the impending power drop.

"Mustard Jr., you have no idea how satisfied I am to see you here, standing centimeters above your grave. You must know why you're here now. But I'll remind you anyway, per my position as the Twilight Kingdom's Supreme Judge: you have been found guilty of the following crimes: multiple counts of attempted murder, multiple counts of successful murder, attempted regicide, royal property damage in two countries, and damage of international property. All in the name of… what was it again? Oh, right! Trying to replace civilized life with wildlife! Sheesh! And I thought Hot Air had the most pathetic—oh, never mind, you're second to him. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that your rap sheet is much longer and full of much more serious crimes, which, by the way, have earned you the death penalty."

"The penalty you love dishing out," Mustard Jr. quipped.

"You got that right. Every criminal death makes Pocketurn one iota safer, and that's a good thing. Now then, let me hear your last words. Beg me for your life."

"Hmph… I _do_ have some last words to impart, but it's not a senseless plea for my life. I know such a plea will fall on deaf ears. So I'll instead say something much more important and much more true: getting rid of me will mean nothing more than your selfish and sadistic satisfaction. Pocketurn's troubles will persist, and in time, it'll just keep gaining new ones. Civilization is a paradox; it builds as much of itself as it destroys. Soon, there'll be nothing to build and nothing to destroy. Just because I'll be dead, don't think your troubles are over. Everything you civilized fools strive for will be ruined one way or another!"

"Eh, not as satisfying as pleading me for your life, but just as senseless as I thought you'd be regardless. I presume you're finished?"

Mustard Jr. nodded and held his breath.

"Thought so. Now, time for the best part: seeing your final moments alive. Pugno, drop him in."

"As you wish, sir." Pugno pressed the button on the side of the platform, sending Mustard Jr. falling into the pool and sinking to the bottom. He looked up at Keldeo and glared at him. His grimace slowly turned into a devious smile. Keldeo glared right back, watching the prisoner for any signs of struggle. But Mustard Jr. was making no attempt to escape. He appeared to have accepted his fate. Suddenly, his eyes shut, and his mouth hung wide open.

"Well, props to him for not prolonging this," Keldeo said. "Never thought I'd see a prisoner willingly breathe in while underwater. I bet he was trying to rob me of the satisfaction of seeing him die in fear. Oh well. Send the corpse to the Electric Room."

"Got it." Pugno pulled the lever with the skull on it, opening the drain and sending the dead skuntank's body to be disposed of. The loud buzzing from below became a deafening crackle as the lights in the whole city flickered due to the amount of electrical power being used. Soon, it went back to normal, signaling that the body had been destroyed. Pugno shut the drain and the Electric Room off.

"Well done, Pugno. Your first execution was a success."

* * *

"Exactly as I feared…" King Kangaskhan II said. "The Convention Center is a Mystery Dungeon. Pelame, get ready for anything."

"I'm ready, sire," Pelame said, getting her Alpha Power ready.

The two Alphas entered the Convention Center, ready to clear it out. Inside, the entry hall at first appeared to be normal, except for them being unable to leave. The staircase leading up to the main vendor hall looked normal, too. Stepping on it did nothing, so the two Pokémon climbed up it. There was another staircase on the top of the stairs they just climbed. That one teleported them to the next "floor" of the Mystery Dungeon. They both ended up in the western side of the Convention Center. There, they were attacked by dark phantoms taking the form of a bunch of druddigon. They took care of them as quickly as they could.

"Dark Blessing Phantoms…" the king said. "Watch out. They could come from anywhere."

"I'm on my guard, sire," Pelame replied.

The two continued down the hall connecting the western side to the central area. The king quickly pulled Pelame back once she was about to walk by a junction.

"Careful," he warned. "There could be something there waiting to snipe us." He took out a One Pokén bill from his coat pocket and tossed it around the corner. Suddenly, it got shot by a thin but powerful dark laser. A loud shooting sound could be heard when this happened. "That'll be a problem."

"I've got an idea," Pelame suggested. "Get behind me." She put up an Alpha Barrier in front of herself and walked sideways, facing the direction the junction with the laser gun would be coming up. Whenever it shot at her, it would harmlessly hit the barrier. She dispelled it once they were in the clear.

"That's very intuitive of you, Pelame." The king and Pelame approached the staircase near them and got teleported to the eastern side of the Convention Center. This area had all the panel and theater rooms. Entering into one of them trapped them both inside. On the stage was a huge mass of Mortite.

"Here, too?!" Pelame shouted in frustration.

"And that isn't our only problem, unfortunately. Look!" The king pointed at the dragonite-shaped Phantom guarding it. "That mass of Mortite must be important somehow. That's why there's a guard there. While you attend to that Mortite mass, I'll deal with that phantom. Okay?"

"Got it."

The two dispersed to their tasks. Pelame made a beeline toward the Mortite mass. Once she got there, she got to work clearing it away. As she did this, the king fended off the guard and any phantoms that came to back it up. All of them disappeared once Pelame got done Purifying away the Mortite mass.

"Is it over?" she asked. "Are we clear?"

"Let's see," the king answered. He looked outside the panel room for confirmation. The staircase from earlier was no longer there, and there were no more phantoms. "Yes. We're clear."

"Thank goodness!"

"Well, well, if it isn't the _Riptide_-hating broad!"

Pelame knew that voice. She turned to the doorway and found Hot Air floating there looking angry.

"Well, well, is it isn't the _Riptide_ fanboy whose devotion to that stupid show drove him to insanity!" Pelame shot back.

Haigsfeld and Malerie entered, following closely behind the angry koffing.

"Ah, Pelame," Haigsfeld greeted. "Nice to see you again."

"Hello, Mr. Haigsfeld!" Pelame greeted back. "I hope you weren't trapped in here when this place was a Mystery Dungeon."

"For a little while, we were," Malerie said. "My uncle took us both here to show us around since he's gonna be part of a _Riptide_ panel—"

"That he has no right to be anywhere near," Hot Air interrupted.

"—at the upcoming Convention this weekend. But then we got lost and attacked. Then suddenly, everything went back to normal. Did you and the king do something special here?"

"I suppose you could say that," the king answered. "Pelame shut off the source of what had turned this place into a Mystery Dungeon. We're checking around the city for places afflicted like this."

"Then could you check out the retirement home in the Middle District, please?" Haigsfeld requested. "My mother-in-law is there, and I just heard someone on the way here mention something happening there."

"Of course we wil—"

The king was cut off when a Dark Pulse nearly hit him. The attack took out most of the ceiling and broke all the windows on the east side of the Convention Center.

"Grandma…?" Malerie said in fear.

Up in the sky was an angry elderly mandibuzz.

"*Unhh…*" Pelame tensed up in pain. "Her power… she's strong…"

"I guess that's your crazy mother-in-law, eh?" Hot Air asked.

"Yep," Haigsfeld confirmed.

"Hello, 'family'," she greeted harshly. "Take a good look at what I've scavenged up." She spread her wings, revealing many hundreds of Dark Threads attached to them. The threads appeared to be reeling up, dragging up many Pokémon from all over the city.

"Grandma Vallory, what are you doing?!" Malerie asked.

"Ridding this city of its Zotoan population, of course! Now that I finally have the ability to do it, why not?!" Vallory looked down at Pelame, noticing the thick area in the middle of her ears. "Until now, I missed one." She quickly snatched Pelame with another thread. As she was being dragged up, she noticed her mother among the abducted Zotoan Pokémon.

_"__What's going on here?! How is she stronger than Mustard Jr.?!"_ Pelame thought in fear.

"Zotoans, time for you to quit poisoning this world with your lives!" Vallory declared ominously. She sent a current of dark power down each of the threads, severely harming everyone caught in them. The king interrupted this attack by tossing a gigantic ball of Alpha Power at her. She fell to the ground, dropping each of her catches as well. When she landed, she sustained an injury that broke through her skin. But instead of blood pouring out of the wound, out came…

"Mortite?!" Pelame exclaimed in fear. "It's a liquid, too?!"

"How is she bleeding Mortite?" Haigsfeld asked. "And what _is_ Mortite?"

"Mortite is a mineral of pure evil. That's all I can say about it. But why would your mother-in-law be bleeding Mortite instead of…" Pelame then came to a horrible conclusion. "The Dark Blessing's strength… it can take over bodies now?"

"Indeed," Vallory answered, standing back up. "This crotchety old mandibuzz sure had a senseless grudge, didn't she? Hating Zotoans just because of the name that race's old language gave her species. Nevertheless, it provided me with a good host to conquer!"

"Who are you?!" Malerie asked. "What did you do to my grandma?!"

"Easy. I coaxed her into accepting a share of my power. But my own power has been growing exponentially the closer we get to Genesis Day. With less than three months away, I've gotten to this point now, where I can break into the body of a pawn of mine and kick that body's original soul out. Good luck finding where I stashed her original soul! That is, if you can even escape here alive!"

"Wait! If you're not my grandma, then why do you sound just like her?!"

"Simple. I control her body. Which means I have access to everything about it: her Moves, her voice, and even her memories. I sure was doing a good impression of her before you caught me bleeding my Mortite ichor out of her body, right?" Vallory turned to Pelame. "Oh, and I'll certainly be happiest to be rid of you, Pelame. Just a little payback for the trouble you've been giving me lately."

Pelame could do nothing but quiver in fear. "You… monster…!"

"Down you all go!" Vallory folded her wings and brought them out again with lots of force, unleashing a powerful pulse of evil energy that blasted everyone out of the building and breaking all of the building's windows and supports, causing it to collapse. Everyone landed far enough away from the building to not be harmed by the collapse. Vallory then dive-bombed toward Pelame and the king. The king caught her and piledrove her into the ground.

"I'll take it from here!" Pelame said, still a bit afraid. She swallowed her fear as much as she could when she went in for the Purifying. Making contact with Vallory's body, she saw nothing but darkness. Within, she came face-to-face with the figure she saw in her Mortite-induced nightmare from months ago. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" she cried out in fear, causing her Alpha Power to suddenly surge and drive it away.

**"****Humph. Don't count on being this lucky again."**

Pelame backed off once she was finished. She sat down, panting and sweating in fear.

"She was there…" she said in terror. "She was there… in Vallory's body…"

"Did you save my grandma?" Malerie asked.

"I think so," Pelame answered, somewhat reassured of her success. She stood up again. "And I think I can hear your grandmother calling for help. Follow me!"

Pelame led the group to the retirement home in the Middle District. They'd made sure to bring Vallory's body with them. All of the retirement home occupants, elderly and staff alike, were outside, quivering in fear of the Mortite engulfing the building.

"It can't be…" Pelame gasped in horror.

"You can do it, Pelame," the king encouraged. "We'll be right here if you need us."

Pelame gulped loudly and went inside, frightened. She followed where her Alpha-honed instincts were guiding her, and found Vallory's room on the second floor. As she suspected, Vallory's soul was there, encased in Mortite. She approached it and touched it. To her relief, instead of gaining another nightmare, she came face-to-face with Vallory. They both stood within a dark void as they spoke to one another.

"Who are you?" Vallory asked.

"I'm Pelame," Pelame introduced. "I'm here to rescue you."

"Rescue? What can a half-Zotoan like you do to help me?"

"I'm going to clear away this evil power imprisoning you. You'll be free soon."

Pelame then used her Alpha Power to Purify the Mortite away, freeing Vallory and clearing away the spreading Mortite. She then looked outside and saw that it had indeed worked, as Vallory began to stir. She went outside to see everyone.

"Unnhh… am I… alive… still…?" Vallory asked.

"Yes, mother, you are," Haigsfeld answered.

"Don't…call me… mother… Haigsfeld… You know… you're not… my biological son…" Vallory turned to Pelame. "Thanks… for saving me… heh heh…. Never thought… I'd ever thank a Zotoan… for anything…"

"No problem, Ms. Vallory," Pelame responded.

"What happened, anyway?" Malerie asked. "Why'd you get possessed? I mean, I heard it say it convinced you to accept it, saying that it'd help you kill a bunch of Zotoans, or some junk like that."

"Yes, that _is_ what it said. And then… it yanked my soul… out of my body… and froze me there… after trying… to destroy me… it couldn't destroy me…. She called my body 'too weak… to make anything disappear'… then she flew off…"

"Well, maybe you should get rid of those ridiculous racist feelings of yours," Neve said.

"Not a chance," Vallory stubbornly declared.

Amid all this, Pelame walked away, feeling very perturbed.

"Pelame, honey, what's wrong?" Neve asked, catching up to her daughter.

"I just… I can't believe what I just saw today. It was bad enough when the Dark Blessing could pass its power onto Pokémon, but now it can actually possess other Pokémon? At this time of year, when Genesis day is only barely over a quarter of the year away?! If it can do that _now_, then… what other powers will it gain later on?! And then, what'll we be able to do against it in that case?! Are we gonna be able to fight it off at all in that case?!" She then turned to the king. "Sire, we need to get that—"

The king quickly cued her to remain silent. Pelame obeyed.

"I know, Pelame. Let's return to the castle and discuss this. I fear you may be right. We must act even sooner than we thought…"


	34. The King's Request

Chapter 34 – The King's Request

* * *

Pelame rose after bowing to the king in his throne room. The date was now Ninthmonth 6th.

"Sorry for almost letting slip about the Request Stone," Pelame said apologetically.

"It's all good, Pelame," the king replied. "I understand what drove you to that. And I agree: we will need to act sooner than we thought. We'll need to get the Request Stone today."

"Sire, am I strong enough for it?"

"I believe you are. You were able to Purify Vallory yesterday, and she appeared to be stronger than Mustard Jr. Not to mention clearing out a Mystery Dungeon and an entire building covered in Mortite. I wouldn't worry."

"Then… what about the other Mystery Dungeons in the Ville?"

"Those will have to wait, unfortunately. For now, we must focus on the main problem. Are you ready to? Because it's going to be our entire focus from here on out. Meaning we will not be returning here in the foreseeable future."

"Hmm…"

"Just let me know when you're ready. Get any provisions you think you'll need. And bid any friends and family of yours farewell. As I said, we'll be gone for quite a while."

"Okay. I'll be back as soon as I can."

* * *

Pelame's first stop was the Diamond Room. No one was there. She decided to freshen up in the bathroom, taking a mere ten minutes to do so. After reentering the main room, she found her backpack packed full of food, berries, maps, and her wallet which had its stock of money refilled. Underneath her backpack was an envelope with a note on it that read, "before you go, please read what's inside this". She opened the envelope and found a big letter. She read it to herself.

_Dear Pelame,_

_Though it has not been that long since you left my guild, it's already felt like multiple eternities. And I gotta say, we here at TIGHS have really really really really really missed you. But I understand that you're hard at work in helping make Pocketurn a better place, and I truly admire that. Noble Pokémon like you are needed in dire times like this. So, keep up your great work._

_And also, please don't feel bad about Ogilvie. Yes, it's perfectly natural to grieve for a friend, but the sadness ought not overwhelm you. Be happy that he lived. And please don't think I hold his death against you. I know the circumstances, and I'm proud of you for trying to save him, and I'm proud of him for his rescue of you. Bottom line: I'm not mad at you, and never have been._

_Now then, I'm gonna turn this letter over to my fellow staff and Researchers._

_Sincerely,  
Trailblazer_

_To Pelame,_

_Things sure have been different here since you left. We all truly miss you and hope everything's okay with you. We'll be glad to see you again if you're ever in our neighborhood._

_Sincerely,  
Winifred_

_To Pelame,_

_We didn't talk much while you were with us, but darn it all, why'd you leave?! I wanna see you again!_

_From,  
Solothurn_

_To Pelame,_

_I hope to see you again someday! You were a great Researcher!_

_From,  
Monater_

_To Pelame,_

_I miss you a lot, even though we didn't chat much. Hope all is well. And good luck!_

_From,  
Pan_

_To Pelame,_

_Miss you lots._

_From,  
Softie_

_To Pelame,_

_To be honest, when you left, I was still making a meal for you, due to me forgetting you were gone. Please return soon. But only if you want to. I hope you've been keeping well._

_Sincerely,  
Rooter_

_To Pelame,_

_You were one brilliant Researcher. I consider it a pleasure to have worked with you._

_Sincerely,  
Zelda_

_To Pelame,_

_You may never have noticed me, but I sure noticed you. I miss you a lot._

_Sincerely,  
Olfac_

_To Pelame,_

_Please keep well, will you?_

_From,  
Lily_

_To Pelame,_

_Wish you've come to my home country with us. We'll be going there rather soon, so drop by if you ever visit there. I'll be looking forward to it. And good luck with your Alpha Training!_

_From,  
Jean_

_To Pelame,_

_I never thought I'd be missing you, to be honest. But hey, the world's full of surprises. Sure is different here without you. I hope we get to meet again. You were pretty cool._

_Sincerely,  
Komed_

_To Pelame,_

_TIGHS sure isn't the same without you. But I know you're doing fine, so I'm happy for you. Good luck with your endeavors!_

_Sincerely,  
Harry_

_To Pelame,_

_We miss you lots! Please contact us soon! We'd love to chat!_

_Sincerely,  
Hokka and Ido_

_To Pelame,_

_It'll be a very pleasant day in Suffering before you see me express sadness that you left. So I will now bestow that very pleasant day to Suffering by saying: COME BACK TO TIGHS!_

_From,  
Redfoot_

_Dear Pelame,_

_I don't know if I can put into words how it feels here without you. I know we had a bad start, but we sure had a good rest of the time, eh? I'll never forget it for a moment of my life. Once again, thank you very much for being one of the best friends I've ever had. I'll be rooting for you in your battle against the Dark Blessing, and I'll always be happy to give you any support I can. For now, I hope these Enigma Berries I found will suffice. Good luck!_

_Sincerely,  
Morikain_

_To Pelame,_

_So, as you can see, we here at TIGHS really really… yeah, okay. I won't repeat myself too much here. But really, we want you to be happy, safe, and successful. You'll always be welcome among us if you ever feel like rejoining. So, I'll close this gigantic letter by saying this: good luck on your current endeavors!_

_Sincerely,  
Trailblazer and everyone here at the Trailblazing International Guild of Historical Studies_

As she finished reading, tears began to well up in Pelame's eyes. She packed away the enclosed Enigma Berries.

"Here's to a successful journey," Neve said, entering the Diamond Room with a plate of Pelame's favorite food. Behind her entered Pinna, Pugno, Blessing (who was in a wheelchair), and Treasure. Blessing had one of the castle's video phones with her, and on it was Torden, who was broadcasting a call from his computer's webcam.

"Just a little something we put together to wish you a good journey with the king," Pinna added.

"Hope you like it, pally," Blessing added.

"You'll do perfectly on this adventure," Pugno added. "Really wish I could go, too. But let me know how it goes."

"We're sure gonna miss you while you're gone," Treasure added. "Stay safe, okay?"

"You'll be fine, Pelame!" Torden added. "Sorry I couldn't be there right now. And thanks for saving the Convention Center! Be sure to do the same for Pocketurn! I know you can!"

"They're all right, my dear. Pocketurn's gonna be just fine," Neve finished.

Pelame was too happy for words. All she could do was grin in happiness while her vision became watery with her own tears. She quickly ate the Chople Berry Soup and Apicot Poffin before her. After she finished with that, she finally spoke.

"How… how did you all know?" she asked.

"Pugno overheard your conversation with the king about going on a long trip and told me and Pinna about it. Then, we organized all this. As for the letter from TIGHS, that came in this morning. I told them over the phone last night that we were staying here, and Winifred said she'd let Trailblazer know. And she also mentioned how he'd been wanting to know your location so he could have a letter sent to you, opting not to go for email. He and his guild want the best for you, just like we do."

"Everyone…" Pelame briefly closed her eyes to blink out a few tears. "Thank you. You all… *sniffle* you're the best… thanks…" Pelame went and hugged each of her friends (and the video phone Torden was calling).

"Whoa, Pelame, watch the butt!" Blessing said. "It's still healing, you know!" She then chuckled. "Just kidding! You're all good!"

"Have a good trip, Pelame!" Pinna wished.

"I will. Just you wait. The king and I will return safely, and to a safe world!" Pelame declared. She was then off to see the king.

"Neve, darling?" Pinna said to his wife. "Did I ever mention how proud I am of our daughter?"

"Many times," Neve answered. "And you have every right to."

* * *

As agreed, Pelame met the king at the foot of Mount Twilight. He had brought provisions of his own.

"I see you also like Chople Berries, sire," Pelame noted upon smelling the fragrance of Chople Berries wafting from his shoulder pack. "Also, you're not wearing your crown."

"Why wouldn't I? They're the best berries in the world!" the king responded. "I love them so much that I have Shortie garnish all my meals with them. Let's have a feast on them once we're done, shall we?"

"Sounds good to me, sire."

"Good. And as for me lacking my crown, I always leave it behind when I'm on long non-diplomatic journeys. Now then, to go get the Request Stone. Thankfully, it'll be rather easy considering the mountain hasn't become a Mystery Dungeon. Still, be on guard."

"I'm ready."

"Then follow me."

The hike up the mountain was no more difficult this time than it was last time. Pelame found this calmness refreshing, especially after the previous day's wild events. She couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy about what she'd have to do inside the shrine, considering she only ended up training for one day before it was decided that now was the time to make for the Request Stone. A part of her doubted she'd succeed. But now that the two had reached the shrine within the Arceus Monument, it was time for her to put her power to the test. She took a deep breath and stepped forward, Alpha Power at the ready.

"Well… Arceusspeed…" she muttered. Her Alpha Sigil glowed with her power and began to dissipate the Mortite blocking the shrine entrance. Like last time, it quickly grew back. Pelame put more power into her effort, finally reaching an impasse between her own power and the regenerating Mortite. With one final push of energy, she started pushing it back, until finally, it all disappeared at once. To her relief, once she stopped using her Alpha Power, the Mortite didn't grow back. The shrine was finally open.

"Well I'll be…" the king said in astonishment. He smiled proudly at Pelame. "You did it."

"*hah hah hah* Yeah… I can't believe it… it worked…" Pelame responded in relief. She sat down to rest.

"You deserve a break. Besides, only I can go in the shrine. I'll be out as soon as I can."

"Okay, sire."

The king entered the shrine. Inside, there were three statues. From outside, Pelame could see into the shrine. She could swear she'd seen a shrine just like it before. But the one difference was that in the middle of the Alpha Sigil on the shrine floor stood a staff. The king picked it up, folded his hands in prayer and bowed. When he rose, he left the shrine.

"Here it is," he said, showing the staff to Pelame. It was golden yellow, the same color as the Alpha Sigil. The stone on the end of it was orange like the color of the sky at sunset "This staff is the Request Stone. We must now take it to the Realm Gate in Promised Land."

"Hey, sire?" Pelame said.

"What is it?"

"When I was working in TIGHS, I visited a shrine that looked exactly like this one. It was in the basement of the Basilica de Swadfuego."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Think maybe that place had Swadfrieg's Request Stone once?"

"That would be the most likely case. But since that Request Stone had already been used, that must be why you were allowed into that shrine. These shrines let any Alpha in once the corresponding Request Stone is used up. From then on, it becomes a place to communicate with the creators of Alpha Power."

"I thought that, too. That shrine in the Basilica de Swadfuego was where I learned that I'm Grani's descendant. And it was also where I learned the name of the one who created the Dark Blessing."

"Did you learn anything else from there?"

"No. Sorry."

"It's okay. The information we have will suffice. Besides, once the request is made, we'll have nothing to worry about."

"Yeah. Time to go to Promised Land, then?"

"Yes. The time has come at last."

"Okay. I can get us there quickly. I'm friends with the Eon Duo."

The two left the Monument and stood atop Mount Twilight. Pelame took out her Eon Flute and played it. In a prompt minute, Latios and Latias arrived.

"Ooooh, suuuweeeeettt!" Latios exclaimed. "That Arceus Monument is even better up close!"

"Brother, we've got a job to do!" Latias scolded.

"Yeah, yeah, I know!"

"Sorry about that, sire. My brother gets excited often."

"Hey! You do, too! Look at how you're looking at the king!"

Pelame and the king shared a small giggle amongst themselves at Latios's observation and Latias's obliviousness to what her brother observed.

"Anyway, where to?" Latias asked.

"Promised Land," Pelame answered.

"Excuse me? Why there?"

"Important business. Sorry, but I can't fully explain it."

"Well, I hope it's worth it, since the whole town went dark."

"'Went dark?'" the king asked. "What do you mean by that? Did it all become a Mystery Dungeon?"

"We don't know," Latios answered. "We flew over it yesterday and saw it all covered in Mortite. Everyone was getting the Suffering out of there as it spread."

"…my hometown…" Pelame said sadly. She quickly climbed onto Latios's back. "We have to save it!"

"And we will," the king agreed. He climbed onto Latias's back. Despite being bigger than her, she could still carry him.

"Ooh, this'll slow me down a bit," she noted. "We'll be at Promised Land in, oh, forty minutes?"

"That'll be fine," Pelame said. "Just as long as we get there before Genesis Day."

"Oh, we'll _definitely_ be there before then. Off we go!"

The Eon Duo Mega Evolved and took off with their passengers.

* * *

"Good news, Blessing," the miltank doctor said. "Your tailbone will be fully recovered in just two more days. We just need to put a cast on it now to make certain of its final healing."

"Okay then," Blessing responded. "Kinda surprised you let me out of here without one on."

"Well, what kind of a cruel Pokémon would I be if I didn't let you say goodbye to a dear friend of yours? Anyway, hold still for just a moment."

"Ooh, you applying more gel to me?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but no." The doctor got a measuring tape out of a nearby drawer. He took it over and measured Blessing's rear end with it. "Now to make a cast for you. Be back soon."

When he left, Blessing began mentally counting how long it'd take him to make the cast. To her own surprise, she only got to 200 when he returned.

"Just over three minutes! New record for me!" the doctor boasted once he reentered.

"I take it you've made butt casts before?" Blessing asked.

"Nope. This is my first time. But now I have a time to beat if I ever have to do this again. By the way, it'll be a bit of a tight fit." The doctor slid the cast onto Blessing's behind. "There you go! And I left a small opening for your tail feathers to poke out of once they grow back."

"Neat! And I gotta say, this is really comfortable! What'd you make this out of?"

"Donated cinccino fur. It's a must for cast-making."

"I can see that. Ahhh, it feels like sitting on a cloud…"

"Well, you'll have three days to enjoy it. Unless for some reason you feel like keeping it. Your choice. Anyway, that's about it. Just rest up and your tailbone will be good as new. Not to mention the rest of your big caboose will be spick-and-span, too."

"Finally! Then I'll finally get to rejoin the action!"

"Hmph, don't see why you'd want to do that. Poor Pugno and Pinna have been being pushed really hard by Keldeo lately. Makes me wonder what's up with him. He's got the entire Royal Guard assembled on the training grounds right now."

"What for?"

"Beats me. But he usually does this whenever there's a big battle coming. Maybe it could be a fight against that Dark Blessing thing, maybe it could be his usual overkill approach to gang wars in the Ville, who knows?"

* * *

"What the…!" Pelame exclaimed as the Eon Duo came in for a landing. "What happened here?!"

"This is bad…" the king agreed. "We've _really_ got our work cut out for us."

"Well, I hope you two know what you're doing…" Latias said, concerned. "Be safe, okay?"

"We will," Pelame reassured. "Thanks for your help. We'll call again when we're done here."

"Okay," Latios responded. "We'll keep our ears out." The Eon Duo flew off.

Pelame looked at her hometown and got an apprehensive feeling about what was within.

**"****Here at long last, huh?"**

Pelame let out a small yelp of fright.

"It'll be okay, Pelame," the king said, noticing her fear. "We'll get through this together."

"Yeah… you're right! Let's go!" Pelame was still a bit stressed, but she was able to make herself enter her hometown, which had indeed become a Mystery Dungeon.

"We need to get to the forest. The Realm Gate is there."

"Got it."

Pelame and the king found the first staircase rather quickly. They didn't let themselves think the rest of the journey would be this easy, though. And just a little ways into the second "floor" was some trouble. There were small Mortite razors orbiting around the fountain in the center of the area.

"Is this the park?" Pelame asked. "It looks just like it."

"It might be. But with everything covered in Mortite, it's hard to tell," the king answered. "Let's keep going."

Staying clear of the fountain kept them safely away from the spinning razor. Soon, they found the next staircase, sending them up another "floor".

"My house!" Pelame exclaimed in anguish. In front of it was a statue shaped like a charizard. Its head spun around. Suddenly, it stopped and shot out a stream of dark fire at Pelame and the king. Pelame blocked it quickly and ran further down the street along with the king. In a nearby cul-de-sac was the next staircase.

"Hmph…" the king scoffed. "We could end up going in circles if we're not careful."

"If we end up in the edge of town, let's just see if we can enter the forest," Pelame suggested.

"That's a good idea. We appear to be in the Recreation Hall. If it weren't covered in Mortite like everything else, being here would be bringing back memories of the last Genesis Day."

"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot you visited here last Genesis Day! It was such an honor having you here!"

"Yes, and it was an honor being here."

"By the way, when you were here, did you happen to visit the Realm Gate? Just wondering."

"Yes, I did."

"I see. What did you visit it for?"

"My apologies, Pelame, but I can't reveal that."

"Why not?"

"Our mission could be compromised if I do. The Dark Blessing's still trying to fully break into this Realm, after all. I don't want to accidentally clue it in to a way to do so."

"…oh. Okay. Sorry for asking."

"It's okay, Pelame. I share your devotion to saving this world. Let's just focus on that for now. We should be close."

Reaching the next staircase brought them to their desired destination.

"There it is," Pelame said. "The Forest of Promised Land." She sighed wistfully. "Haven't been here since the last Genesis Day, either. My parents came here last time to speak to my grandmother's soul. My grandmother always loved this forest."

"That's very interesting," the king responded. "Out of curiosity, whose mother is your grandmother?"

"Oh, she's my dad's mother. Which means… dad got Grani's lineage from her!"

"And where in the forest did she appear?"

"Well, she always liked this one particular stump in this one clearing deep within. Because of that, her soul appeared there, and so my parents and I went there to talk to her."

The king lightly chuckled. "Well, Pelame, that's very fortunate. Because that stump is very close to the Realm Gate. And by the way, is your grandmother a leafeon?"

"Yes."

"Gosh, so many coincidences! I saw her that Genesis Day! Of course, I didn't speak to her, and it's likely she didn't see me. Even though that stump is close to the Realm Gate, it's still a bit of a ways into the forest. Plus, no regular Pokémon can even reach it. But that's what we're going to do today. Our goal's within sight!"

Pelame and the king entered the forest, wandering into the midst of another Mystery Dungeon. And this one proved to be the toughest one yet. Right off the bat, there were Phantoms in the shape of fully-evolved Bug-type Pokémon. They lashed out as soon as they saw the two intruding Alphas. The king retaliated with a pinpoint Alpha-fueled Thunderbolt attack fired out of his index finger. The Phantom Bug-types went down instantly.

"Nice shot, sire!" Pelame complimented.

The two pressed on and found the first staircase, taking them deeper into the forest. Upon arriving on the next "floor", they found themselves surrounded by a bunch of Phantom spindas.

"Pelame, get on my back!" the king ordered. Once Pelame did so, the king slammed his tail into the ground, using Earthquake to destroy the Phantom images. Other Phantoms were still around in this "chamber", though, having remained a safe distance away from the king's attack. A Phantom girafarig shot a Demon-fueled Psybeam at the king, hitting him directly. Pelame retaliated to that with a Quick Attack, dispatching the Phantom. She did the same to the other Phantom girafarig remaining in the room. The room was soon cleared out.

"You okay, sire?" Pelame asked.

"Oh, I didn't even feel that attack," the king boasted. "That Phantom wasn't even trying. Still, that was an unexpected ambush."

"I think this was what the Mystery Dungeon explorers in the old days used to call 'Monster Houses'," Pelame explained. "Hopefully we don't run into too many of those."

"I agree. We might not be so lucky next time. Let's keep going."

The next staircase dropped them near the river running through the forest. Out of it jumped a bunch of Phantom poliwag and politoed.

"Phantoms at every turn!" Pelame said in frustration. "There's no end to them!"

"We'll be fine!" The king shot two of them with his Thunderbolt, dispatching them. The two remaining politoed Phantoms blocked it with a timely Protect and then retaliated with a Focus Punch, hitting both Alphas directly.

"*oof* They sure charge their focus quickly…" Pelame said in pain. One of the politoed Phantoms advanced on Pelame and attempted to Focus Punch her in the face. She blocked it with a timely Alpha Barrier and then struck back with her Iron Tail attack, destroying the Phantom. The king destroyed the one attacking him with a well-placed Hammer Arm attack.

"*whew* That was the toughest bout yet," the king said. "We must be getting close."

The next staircase was, to their relief, the last. The stump Albero visited on the last Genesis Day was there before the two Alphas.

"We're nearly there," the king said. "I'll lead the way from here on."

As he declared, he led Pelame. They went north of the stump, pushing past the trees that grew to feel as though they were a thick wall. After that obstacle, they appeared on a long straight path that appeared to be a hallway of sorts.

"Here is the point where only Alphas like us can reach. If any non-Alpha ever came here, those trees back there would've just pushed them back. But the Alpha Bloodline has its perks. Let's go."

The two walked down the makeshift corridor. As they got closer and closer, Pelame could feel excitement welling up within her. She and the king were going to save Pocketurn! Once they arrived, her excitement turned into dismay and frustration. A giant mass of Mortite had grown in the middle of this new clearing they reached.

"No you don't!" Pelame cried in sudden frustrated fury. "I did not…" she pounded away at the Mortite mass with her Alpha Power. "…come all the way here with the king…" she jumped up and down on it, stomping on it. "…just for you to plug the Realm Gate up!" It proved to be effective. The Mortite was destroyed. Once it was, the forest, as well as Promised Land as a whole, returned to normal. And now, the clearing's true form could be seen.

"Well done, Pelame!" the king congratulated. "Take a look! This is the Realm Gate!"

The Realm Gate was a marvelous sight to behold. It looked exactly like the Emblem of Existence she saw back in Mujizoto Tower. However, the images of the World Leaders were missing. In fact, all twelve of the nodes in the middle were blank, except for the one nearest her, which had the Twilight Kingdom's National Sigil on it. All the other nodes were as she remembered: the Immortal side being topped with an image of Arceus, and the Mortal Side being topped with an image of Mew.

"These ones are new," Pelame said, referring to the two nodes below each of the top Pokémon on each side. She went over to the Arceus node, stopping just short of the node to the lower left, which depicted a draconic-looking Pokémon with red eyes, a grey face, and gold armored skin. "Giratina, the Representative of Suffering and Punishment." She then went over to the node to the lower right of the Arceus node, which depicted a Pokémon with a pink head that had crescent moon-shaped objects on its sides. "Cresselia, the Representative of Paradise and Reward." After that, she went to the Mortal side, stopping at the node to the lower left of Mew, at the image of a red-faced Pokémon with black horns and blue eyes. "Yveltal, the Representative of Death and the Guide that leads souls of the dead to where in the Immortal Realm they belong." And finally, she went to the node to the lower right of Mew, which depicted a blue-faced Pokémon with a complicated network of antlers. "Xerneas, the Representative of Mortal Life and the Maintainer of Mortal souls residing in Mortal bodies." Pelame had fully taken in this amazing sight of the entire Emblem of Existence. "This is the kind of thing historians spend their whole lives trying to decipher the meanings of, if they can even find the object itself. This is so amazing…" Then she remembered what they were here for. "Sire, are you ready?"

"Certainly," the king replied. "However, when I use this Request Stone, this Gate will surge with power. I am communicating directly with the Immortal Realm, after all, so there's no telling what will happen. To be safe, please don't stand on the Emblem."

"Okay." Pelame sat down about fifty centimeters away from the Emblem.

King Kangaskhan II walked over to the node depicting his nation's sigil, Request Stone in tow. When he stood upon it, he touched the base of the Stone to the node and spoke.

"Immortal Realm. Through my Request Stone, the last remaining one on this side of Existence, I beseech you."

Pelame was very excited to hear the king speak to the Gate.

"Pocketurn currently faces a crisis the likes of which have never before been seen and the magnitude of which have long been thought impossible. It is falling apart at the seams! Nobody knows it but me and the one I brought here! And so I come here to ask for your help in this matter, as we discussed last Genesis Day."

Pelame remembered that the king had mentioned visiting here before. She got ready to hear the details of that visit, guessing that now was a safe time for him to reveal them.

"The Swadfrieg War was the last straw that sent this world into complete madness. Everyone lost their minds. But now, I wish to restore to the world its vision. And there is only one way I can do that. The world needs the Twilight Kingdom's help, and the only way it can help is if the world becomes the Twilight Kingdom's property."

Those words dealt a gigantic dent in Pelame's hopes.

"But Alpha Power has done next to nothing to help with that. Which is why, I turn to you now, Unod. This is my request to you: deliver Unod the World Destroyer to my Request Stone!"

Pelame got up and approached the king.

"Sire, what are you saying?!" she asked frantically. "Take that request back before it's too late!"

The king glanced down at Pelame without responding.

"Sire…?"

The Emblem of Existence glowed pitch black and grew a Mortite-like sheen. Pelame backed off of the Emblem in panic. She watched in horror as the Mortite covered the Emblem completely. And when the king touched his Request Stone down onto it, it all retracted and entered the Stone. The Stone turned to Mortite as a result. He then touched the ball of the Stone to his head. A claw-like object grasped him as he did this and imparted a significantly large Dark Blessing into him.

"Sire! What have you done?! This isn't saving Pocketurn!"

The king finally responded.

"Yes, Pelame, it is. The true danger of Pocketurn is the other World Leaders' ignorance. _That_ is what I strive to rescue Pocketurn from. And that is what you can help me do."

"…what…?" Pelame asked, horrified.

"We made a deal to save this world. We're going to make this world ours, as we are the only ones fit for it. With Unod safely confined in my Request Stone, I can give Dark Blessings to whoever I want. You've helped me immensely, and I will always be grateful to you for that. That's why I am going to give you a Dark Blessing. Not only that, but you will be the Queen of the Twilight World. Come forth now and receive the Dark Blessing."

"…sire...why…?" Pelame couldn't bear to look at the king anymore. "WHY DID YOU DOOM THE WHOLE WORLD?!" After screaming that out, she turned around and ran, playing her Eon Flute as she did so. Just as she reached the forest's exit, the Eon Duo arrived.

"Hey there!" Latios greeted joyfully. "Done with your— hey, where's the king?"

"Never mind him!" Pelame snapped tearfully. "Just take me to the Ville! Now!"

"Okay, okay… calm down."

Back in the forest clearing, the king was bewildered and a bit hurt.

"Pelame… didn't you want to save this world…?"


	35. Ambition of the Twilight King

Chapter 35 – Ambition of the Twilight King

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait, wait… start over, Pelame," Blessing said as she was carefully being loaded onto Latias's back. "_What happened?_"

"Like I told you: the king just as good as destroyed Pocketurn!" Pelame answered, still feeling very upset. "We can't stay here!"

"But where are we going?" Neve asked.

"Swadfrieg. The king said he had a summit there that was unsuccessful, and he said that the other World Leaders don't think of the Dark Blessing as a threat. Well, I think that if he lied to me about saving Pocketurn, he also lied about what he was doing abroad. So I'm going to find out what the deal really is."

"You think you'll gain an audience with Swadfrieg's ruler?" Treasure asked.

"It's worth a try. Where's dad and Pugno?"

"They're in the training area," Neve answered. "Keldeo isn't letting anyone near there, not even to see them."

"Ugh…" Pelame went over to the grounds despite protests from her mother. "Captain!" she called once he was within her sights.

"What is—wait a minute…" Keldeo began. "Did you come here ahead of the king?"

"Forget about the king! He betrayed Pocketurn! I need to speak to Pugno and my dad!"

"Wait… does this mean you're not going to help us?"

"Help you? With wh—" At that moment, Pelame realized what was going on. "…you were in on it… you were in on the king's plan to conquer the world."

"Conquer the world?" Keldeo asked. "You think _that's_ what we're doing? No, Pelame, we're _saving_ the world. From _itself_."

"You're just like the king himself…" she looked past Keldeo and called out to her father and Pugno. "Come on! We're leaving!"

Pinna and Pugno stayed put.

"They're not going anywhere," Keldeo declared. "And it sounds like you're not going to cooperate with us, so neither are you."

Pelame tossed a ball of Alpha Power at Keldeo before he could do anything. Taking this chance, Pelame ran back to the others she came with and got on Latios's back. Once everyone was accounted for, the Eon Duo Mega Evolved and flew off to the specified destination. Just then, the king returned.

"Sire! There you are!" Keldeo said gleefully.

"Hello, Keldeo," the king greeted. "Sorry I took so long. I had to take a plane from Tan Fields back here since Pelame ran off without me."

"She was just here a moment ago. She fled along with her mother and her two guests. She isn't going to help us."

"I gathered that. We'll just need to proceed without her."

"Where are we striking first?"

"Swadfrieg. We'll leave as soon as we get an attack plan together. And also, as we agreed, I will be giving Dark Blessings to you all. So, everyone line up and receive it."

* * *

As calculated, the Eon Duo got their passengers to Bihda promptly at 6:23PM. On the way there, Pelame had explained what had happened at Promised Land.

"Here's hoping Queen Mkono listens to you," Latias said. "Good luck, everyone!" She and her brother left the small plot of land they chose to disembark at. Neve allowed the physically disabled Blessing to ride on her back, being as she was the only Pokémon in the group who was big enough to offer such a service.

"So, where's the Queen's residence at?" Neve asked.

"I'll lead us there," Pelame answered. "The city's not that big, even though it's Swadfrieg's Capital. In fact, I'm afraid this might be King Kangaskhan II's first target."

"His army beat this country's once before," Blessing added as they began the trip to the palace. "I hate to sound grim, but Swadfrieg may not stand a chance now that he has a Dark Blessing."

"Still, if we can give the queen a warning, she'll at least be able to mitigate some possible damage. Who knows? Maybe she could even beat him. _That's_ the outcome I want, to be honest."

"By the way, why didn't you try to Purify him?" Treasure asked.

"Uhh, Treasure?" Blessing prodded. "He's a super-powerful Alpha who was at full strength at the time. You think Pelame's seriously gonna try to take on a Pokémon who was even able to beat Mustard Jr. in seconds?"

"Good point."

"I was about to say the same thing," Pelame said. "He'd have to be weakened in order for me to even have the chance. But that can't be good for his soul, simultaneously being an Alpha and a Demon."

"Sorry to distract from the point, but WOW does this city look great!" Blessing said in admiration. "What's that over there?"

"That's the Basílica de Swadfuego. We're near the palace now. I can tell by us being near the Basílica."

"Swadfuego? Isn't that the name of the moltres who's seen as a guardian of this country?" Neve asked.

"Yep. When I went Researching here with TIGHS, we were told about a door with the Alpha Sigil suddenly appearing when it finished being built long ago. And considering what the king told me about it being a Request Stone shrine, I guess this place was specifically chosen to be built here by Queen Elafa, who was the ruler when the Basílica was built. She'd have been the only one who'd know that the shrine was below the ground there."

"Hearing you talk about the Request Stone gets me wondering what all the other World Leaders used them for," Blessing said. "I wonder if a few of them wasted them on selfish ambitions like our current king did. And you know, if those Stones can't actually grant requests, why did it deliver the Dark Blessing's creator directly to his Stone?"

"I guess… he might not have intended that to be his request to the Stone. He asked the Stone to help him conquer Pocketurn, and I guess from there, he just told Unod to enter his Stone. I don't know! All I know is that we need to warn the queen, and, now that I think about it, the whole world!"

"Well, now that we're at the palace, we can. If this is the palace, anyway."

"Oh, it is." Pelame confirmed the identity of the building they arrived at. Its gates were shut and tightly guarded. Pelame approached the front gate's guard, who was a growlithe about her mother's height.

"Hold it, young lady!" he ordered. "Wait a moment…" He took a closer look at Pelame. "Ah, I knew you looked familiar. You were here to see the queen return to her throne back in Sixthmonth."

"So, were there just no other eevees there?" Blessing asked.

"Oh, there were. I just recognized this lady here. No other eevee there wore a white bow nor had a neck fur styled like this. Oh, and…" he lifted up the center part of her neck fur and showed her Alpha Sigil. "…not to mention _this_ dead giveaway." He let Pelame's neck fur flop back down. "So, what're you doing back here, huh?"

"We need to see the queen immediately!" Pelame said with urgency. "It's very important!"

"Should've let us know before now. The queen can't see anyone right now—"

"But this is really important! Her country could depend on it!"

"How so?"

"King Kangaskhan II wants to conquer Pocketurn, and I think he's gonna start here!"

The growlithe guard responded with an expression that signified that his interest was piqued. He pressed a button on the gate's built-in intercom.

"Your Majesty? Someone's here to see you about something King Kangaskhan II is planning," he said.

After about fifteen seconds of silence, there was a response.

"Send her in. But only her. I see from my window that she came with others."

"Yes, my Queen." The growlithe guard let go of the intercom's button and got out a key. He turned it in a lock located on the ground in front of it, and it opened. "Okay, young eevee lady. The queen will see you. The rest of you will have to wait here, though."

"Go on, Pelame," Neve encouraged. "We'll be fine."

"I'll try not to be too long, then," Pelame answered.

"Oh, no, it's fine. We'll wait here."

"Uh, actually, why not go over to the hospital two blocks from here?" suggested the growlithe guard. "That sneasel on your back looks like she could use a wheelchair."

"Hey, that's a good idea! Well, Pelame, if we're not back out here, look for us at the hospital. Good luck, sweetie!"

"Thanks, mom." Pelame entered the grounds of the palace, prompting the gate to be shut behind her. _"Sure has been a while since I was here…"_ she couldn't resist noting to herself. She approached the palace door and pushed it open. The palace wasn't nearly as huge and ornate as the Twilight Castle was, but it was still quite beautiful to behold. Its red and orange color scheme was marvelously done. As she was admiring it, she was approached by a Delphox she instantly recognized as Prime Minister Magus.

"The queen sent me here to escort you to her," he said. "Follow me, please."

Pelame nodded and did as told. He led her down the main hall and up the only staircase in the entire building. He knocked on the big door located at the top of the stairs.

"Here she is, Majesty," Magus announced.

"Send her in," the queen said from beyond the door.

"Yes, my Queen." Magus pushed open the door and allowed Pelame inside. He shut it once she entered. The room was a bit small, only about the size of her bedroom back at her house. She bowed before the ambipom seated on the throne.

"No need for that right now," said Queen Mkono. "State your business."

"Your Majesty, I came for two reasons," Pelame began. "First, to warn you that there's a possible coup heading here. And second, I had heard that King Kangaskhan II met with you, mentioning that you had refused his offer to help your country."

"Oh, so _that's_ how he's phrasing his attempt to swindle me out of my country, huh?!"

"Pardon?!"

"*sigh* Well, considering that, it wouldn't surprise me that he'd try force. He knows deceit won't work."

"What are you talking about? What exactly did he do here?"

"To be blunt, he tried to swindle Swadfrieg from me. He came here proposing a deal that would station a big share of his military here. That wouldn't have been a problem in and of itself, but there was a provision that stated that one of his Elite Nine would be made the Governor of wherever the stationing would take place. Effectively meaning that he'd gain ownership of my territory if I was stupid enough to agree to it. The deal specifically mentioned Bihda would be occupied, which meant that he'd gain the city. And, well, you should know what happens when a Capital falls."

As Pelame heard this, she felt a mixture of betrayal and anger. Queen Mkono could see it in her face.

"Then I guess that's what he tried in Shizazoto, too."

"Doesn't surprise me, actually. And I think he chose to pull this trick on me and Kentahito because he knew the rest of the world probably wouldn't listen to us, considering that his predecessors were tyrants, so he'd sound like one in the making if he tried to blame another World Leader for anything at all. In my case, there's the fact that my country was at war with his only a decade ago. We'd sound like we were trying to senselessly discredit him."

"Still, to think I believed him… I completely fell into his trap…"

"How so?"

At that, Pelame told the queen about the events ranging from her seeking the king out for Alpha training up to his eventual betrayal.

"Unbelievable… it was bad enough he used the Dark Blessing as an excuse to try to swipe my country from me after attempting the same on Emperor Kentahito, but to have done so to you, too… he's just evil. There's no other way to put it."

"I'm sorry, Queen Mkono." Pelame looked up at the queen with a regretful expression.

"No, Pelame. You did what you thought was right. I might have done the same if I were—"

"Your Majesty! Are you there?!" asked the growlithe guard over the intercom.

"What is it?" the queen said into the intercom on her throne.

"I couldn't stop him! King Kangaskhan II just barged right in. And he has his army out here, too! What do we do?!"

"…stand by." The queen let go of the "speak" button on her throne intercom. "Pelame, please let me handle this."

"But, Your Majesty!" Pelame said, concerned. "You sure you can—"

The door was pushed open by King Kangaskhan II, who entered the throne room.

"My apologies, Majesty!" Magus said. "I couldn't stop him!"

The king shut the door in Magus's face. He approached the queen while barely taking notice of Pelame standing there glaring at him.

"Good evening, Queen Mkono," he greeted. "You look well."

"The feeling's mutual," the queen curtly responded. "Let me guess: you're here about Swadfrieg?"

"Precisely. I know we got off on the wrong foot last time, but I think that can be made up for. But you know, the blame can't go entirely to me. You failed to recognize an excellent opportunity to improve your land."

"I guess I did. Or it could be that I failed to see how literally signing Swadfrieg off to you would help it in any way. You've got a lot of nerve, you know that? Trying to conquer me with trickery, tricking this poor young lady here into forwarding your plans, and now I hear you brought your army here with you."

"Yes. Look outside."

The queen and Pelame both did so. Pelame could feel lots of dark energy coming from them. She came to the only conclusion she could, and it was dreadful: the Twilight Army were all Demon-types.

"Again, you should accept your share of the blame for this. I was driven to this, you know. But I can still give you a chance. I'm still in a peaceful mood. Just surrender Swadfrieg to me, and no damage will have to be done."

The queen had no response to this other than to glare at the king.

"I'll allow you two hours to come to a decision. When you do decide, meet me on the palace's front lawn, where I have a tent set up. Failure to show up will be interpreted as forfeit. Think about it." The king started on his way out of the throne room.

"Wait a minute!" Pelame ordered.

"Pelame, meet me in my tent. There's something I wish to speak to _you_ about." With that, the king left the palace and went to his tent on the grounds. Pelame started after him.

"Be careful, Pelame," the queen warned. "And don't worry. I'll think of something."

"Okay," Pelame answered.

"And if the worst should happen, warn the other World Leaders. I'll contact them now and let them know what's happening, and to expect your arrival."

"Good idea." Pelame then left the palace.

* * *

Inside the king's tent, Keldeo was discussing strategic matters with his leader.

"Our new Dark Blessings will make this a breeze!" he gloated. "Gotta admit, I'm just _itching_ to try this out on whatever idiot comes my way! Not to mention how good our nation's sigil looks on my haunches!" Keldeo looked admiringly toward his hips, which had the Twilight Kingdom National Sigil emblazoned on them in Mortite. "A true symbol of power, if I do say so myself. I can't wait for the chance to beat someone with it!"

"Be patient, Keldeo," the king advised. "You'll get your chance. It all depends on how cooperative the queen's feeling. And I'm not anticipating any other territory will surrender quietly."

"To be fair, you wouldn't, either."

"True. Now then, since we have 115 minutes left on the clock I put the queen on, use that time however you see fit. But remember: don't attack until I give the order."

"Yes, sire!" Keldeo left the tent. Just then, Pelame stormed inside.

"Hello, Pelame. I was hoping to see you," the king greeted.

"The feeling is _not_ mutual," Pelame seethed. "You have _so many_ things to answer for, I don't even know where to begin."

"Same with you, Pelame. You've been so cooperative until now. Why has your cooperation with me stopped? Do you not want to save Pocketurn?"

"That is what I've been trying to do all along! And I though you wanted to too! But you didn't! You just want to rule Pocketurn, not save it!"

"Pelame, me ruling Pocketurn _will_ save it. _Us_ ruling Pocketurn will save it. What did you think I meant when I mentioned saving this world?"

"I thought… all along, the Dark Blessing, and all the trouble it caused—some of which _you and select members of your military_ were dealing with, by the way!—is what I've been fighting against! And then you went and released its creator and sealed her within that Request Stone! You know what the Dark Blessing has done! You know what it _can_ do! So why use it, let alone give it to your entire military?! I just— it… gah… a… Are you completely out of your mind?!"

"Pelame, I can assure you that I am not. You, myself, and my army are the last remaining voices of reason left in the world! You know that power itself has no morality. Any power, even those intended for certain purposes, can be used for any number of goals. You met Alphas who were using their power for evil, and Pugno trained with a Demon who was a good Pokémon. And, of course, you've met many Alphas using their power for the good purposes Alpha Power was intended to be used for, and you've met Demons who used the Dark Blessing to cause all kinds of trouble. It's just what happens when a great power falls into the wrong hands; Paras used it as part of his Team Static agenda, and Mustard Jr. used it to try to destroy civilization. Completely irresponsible misuse. But as I stated, any kind of power can be put to more responsible and benevolent use. Which is why I consider myself a favorable representative of both Alpha and Demon power."

"By conquering Pocketurn?! How is _that_ reasonable?! Do you even know what you're saying?! You sound just like Windie the Conqueror!"

The king's expression hardened. "That foolish ancestor of mine was a megalomaniac who just wanted power."

"Frankly, the way you sound now, it's like he's back from the grave. Except, you're tooling around with a dangerous power that has caused nothing but misery and despair, and even the deaths of some good Pokémon. Does all of that mean _nothing_ to you?!"

"As a World Leader, things like that _do_ mean a lot to me. How do you think I felt when my nation got blamed for the death of Magus's predecessor? Betrayed, that's what! Swadfrieg started a war against me just because of an anarchist lunatic! It was an awful feeling. That was when it became clear to me that reason had truly disappeared from this world. But I was assured that there was one individual who still knew what he was doing: me."

"And who told you that?"

"Unod."

Pelame gasped in shock.

"The Swadfrieg War took a terrible toll on all involved, especially me. Seeing all that senseless fighting, the blame for which unfairly went to me, it drove me mad. I was consoled by the creator of the Dark Blessing, who assured me that I was the only reasonable Mortal left. After the War ended, I feared that something like it or worse could happen again. So that was when I decided that I needed to do something about it. So, on Genesis Day 1507, I went to Promised Land to go to the Realm Gate. There, I could communicate with the Immortal Realm."

* * *

_King Kangaskhan II arrived in the forest clearing where the Realm Gate lie. He stood on the node depicting his nation's sigil. Once he did, he heard a voice speak to him. No voice was heard, but his mind understood what was being said to him._

**_"_****_That was a marvelous performance you displayed during the Swadfrieg War."_**

_The king's low spirits were lifted upon hearing that._

**_"_****_Your low spirits helped me reach you that day, but now your spirit burns brighter than ever. You deserve such a reward."_**

_"__Perhaps," the king responded. "However, even though the War has been over for years, I still can't get over this ominous feeling that someone else could snap and start another conflict. Pokémon are such fragile creatures, after all."_

**_"_****_Oh, don't I know? I've observed it all."_**

_"__I just wish I knew what could be done about it. If I could just convince everyone to see reason, there'd be nothing to worry about. Nobody else understands, though, not even my fellow World Leaders. And the more I look at it, it seems only my country has any reason and wisdom to it."_

**_"_****_I can concur with that."_**

_"__But the world won't listen to me, even if I tried to convince them. All they listen to nowadays is force. I've been planning to colonize the rest of the world in order to revive its reason, but my Alpha Power won't be enough to do that. And my Request Stone is blocked behind a barrier of some kind of dark crystal."_

**_"_****_Ah. That was my doing. That mineral is called Mortite, and I placed it there to prevent its use against me."_**

_"__I understand your caution. But I may need to get at it. I can release you, Unod."_

**_"_****_Then, you'll have to track down an Alpha who can get you past that barrier. Unfortunately, from where I am, I can't do it myself."_**

_"__And the other World Leaders aren't going to want to help me. So, who can? And how can there be other Alphas in the world?"_

**_"_****_There are. However, no one knows about this. Back when Alpha Power was first created and distributed, it only awakened within them when directly threatened by my power. But even from here, I can tell that the Bloodlines of those Alphas has survived. And in fact, no less than five reside in this very town. One of them is of two Alpha Bloodlines, one of which is Grani, the wretch who helped put me here. He had the most inconvenient ability to reverse the effects of my power, and that annoying ability rests within two of the Alphas living here. Whichever one of those gains more power can help you."_**

_"__But how will that power be awakened?"_

**_"_****_As you said, the Mortal Realm is slipping further and further into madness. Despair and doubt run rampant among all the other negativity. Despair and doubt is all I need, though, and the only thing I can use. And those very feelings have given me enough strength to communicate with you. If the gate were open just a bit wider, I could send out a piece of my power into the Mortal Realm. Then, whoever accepts my power will gain access to my abilities. And if they should lose their power to Grani's descendant, the stronger that Alpha will get. Let it grow big enough, and you can claim your Request Stone."_**

_"__I see. Then, for Pocketurn, I will allow that part of you into this Realm."_

_The king then knelt down onto the node and used his Alpha Power to pry open the Gate. Out of it came many small masses of dark energy that spread all throughout the planet. They traveled too quickly to be detected by anyone or anything. Even the king didn't notice._

**_"_****_Now, many shares of my power reside on Pocketurn. Anyone who is near them will be able to hear me speak to them. For now, that is all I can do. Seek that Alpha out, and you will be able to save Pocketurn."_**

_"__Thank you."_

**_"_****_And be certain that the Alpha in question doesn't die, before or after you release me and gain my power. That power to Purify the effects of my power will seek out a new Alpha to reside in, should the holder not have an heir. And you are the strongest Alpha, so it'll go to you. And if it does while you have a share of my power within you, your soul will be overloaded and you will Disappear."_**

_"__I'll keep that in mind. I'll see to your entry into this Realm."_

**_"_****_Then we have a deal."_**

* * *

"And so, all I needed to do was wait until that Alpha she spoke of appeared. Then, when all of those Demon-type incidents happened, I heard of many Alphas appearing as a result. But I recognized that they weren't of Grani's bloodline, so I had to keep looking. Then, the Team Static incident happened, which ended with you Purifying its leader. From then on, I knew you were the one I sought. So I sent you that letter that offered to train you in Alpha Power."

Pelame remembered every word of that letter.

* * *

_"Oh, Pelame," Neve said. "We brought a letter for you from the King."_

_"Excuse me?!" Pelame said in shock. "King Kangaskhan II wrote to me?!" She took the letter and tore the envelope open. She set the paper on the back of her mom's seat and read it aloud._

_"To Pelame,_

_I regret not being able to meet you during the last Genesis Day. And now that you've saved my country, as well as possibly the world, from what Team Static had planned, that regret has grown. Of course, I am a busy King, so I hope you understand why I couldn't personally thank you for your heroic efforts. I hope you can settle for a letter. Anyway, I thank you on behalf of my country for putting an end to Team Static.__  
__As one of the World Leaders, I am indeed an Alpha-type. But you and all of Pocketurn know that already. I was surprised to hear you are also an Alpha. I must admit that I'm very curious about this, and I'm sure you are, too. But between us, I am the more experienced Alpha, which is why I'd be more than happy to train you in your Alpha power. I don't know much about that 'Dark Blessing,' but from all the coverage of the Team Static incident, it sounds tenacious. Please do write back with an answer. Whatever you decide, it'll be fine with me. And even if you refuse, I'll leave the offer open in case you change your mind. It's up to you._

_Sincerely,__  
__King Kangaskhan II of the Twilight Kingdom Royal Family_

_P.S.: This is Captain Keldeo writing now. Tell your dad I said 'hi!'"_

_Pelame was feeling a mix of flattery and bewilderment. Lots of things were running through her head at this moment._

_"Wow. My daughter, thanked by the King himself," Pinna said proudly. "And what an offer that is! Want to take it?"_

_Pelame snapped back to reality at that question._

_"You don't have to if you don't want to," Neve said, sensing her daughter's hesitation._

_"Whew…," Pelame responded in relief. "Yeah, I'll have to turn him down for now. I'd like to focus on the Trailblazing Guild for now."_

_"Good idea, sweetheart," Pinna responded. "It's never a good idea to lapse from one major struggle directly into another. Just rest up for now."_

* * *

"You turning my offer down did ultimately work out for the best, as those later Demon-type incidents made you stronger. None of those incidents were planned by me, but it is still fortunate that you stopped them. You nearly caught up to me by the time you finally did return to train with me. That final incident in the city gave you just the boost you needed to finally get me into that shrine so I could get the Request Stone. From then, I finally fulfilled the deal I made with Unod. And here we are now. Me, poised to begin my destiny to restore reason to Pocketurn, and you, seeming to oppose me. But it isn't too late, Pelame. You can still help me save Pocketurn. Don't turn traitor on me."

As Pelame heard the king come clean about all of the recent events, she experienced a huge gamut of feelings. Chief among these feelings were betrayal, fear, and wrath. She looked up at the king with these intense emotions on her face.

"The Team Static incident," she began. "Mustard Jr., and all other Demon-type incidents in the world… And all along, you caused all of it… you sold Pocketurn out to Unod for your own ambitions, condemned it to all kinds of misery… and you…" she began using her Alpha Power. "Have the _GALL_…" she advanced on the despot before her. "TO CALL _ME_ A TRAITOR?!" She lashed out by throwing a ball of Alpha Energy at the king, hitting him directly. His Request Stone, acting on its own, tossed a ball of Demon energy at her in retaliation.

"Then… I guess you've made your mind up. It's a shame. You could've been a perfect Queen of the Twilight World." The king spoke into his Stone. "Keldeo, Pinna, Pugno, remove this traitor from my sight!"

As commanded, Keldeo, Pinna, and Pugno entered the tent and dragged Pelame out.

"Don't execute her, though," he added. "Keep her imprisoned until I gain the strength to finish her off myself."

"Yes, sir," the three soldiers responded.

"And then after that, get ready to attack. Thanks to Pelame's attempted mutiny, I've decided to attack Bihda right now."

"As you wish."

"YOU'RE GOING TO LIVE TO REGRET THIS!" Pelame screamed at the king as she was dragged off.

"Pelame, calm down!" Pugno ordered.

"Pugno, why are you listening to him?!" Pelame demanded.

"He's my king, and he knows what he's doing for the world."

"That's right," Pinna agreed. "Pocketurn needs the Twilight Kingdom."

"Dad, you too?!"

"Pelame, please understand—"

"No! There's nothing _to_ understand! The king's an ambitious tyrant, and you three are his mindless slaves!"

The three Pokémon tossed Pelame into a metal box that was situated near cages that held Neve, Blessing, and Treasure. They then sealed it shut.

"My daughter…" Pinna lamented.

"She's not your daughter anymore," Keldeo said. "She's just a traitor now. Come on, let's get ready to fight."

The king stepped out of his tent and spoke into his Request Stone, which he was using to amplify his voice.

"Queen Mkono of Swadfrieg," he declared. "I have changed my mind. A traitor whom you were visiting with has attacked me and attempted to murder me. I am through with waiting, so I am now going to attack!" He turned to his army. "Twilight Kingdom Forces! You have my permission to attack—"

"Just a moment!" The queen climbed down from her throne room and met the king face-to-face. "King Kangaskhan II, I've come to a decision."

The king gestured to his army to command them to stand down.

"I will surrender Swadfrieg to you."

"NO! DON'T DO IT!" Pelame shouted from inside the box she was sealed in.

"But only on one condition."

"Hmph… you should know that it's much too late to bargain with me."

"Perhaps it is. However, think of the message you are sending to the world. They have lots of morale, you know. They'd be confident in taking on someone who conquered a country that surrendered peacefully. So, what I propose is this: a battle against me, one-on-one. No assistance from either side, just us and whatever abilities we have at our disposal."

"And you think you can actually defeat me?"

"It's worth a try. Defeat me, and Swadfrieg is yours. Lose to me, and you will just have to leave."

"Is that so?" the king laughed. "As it is, I've needed to test out these new powers of mine. Who better to defeat with them than the weakest of the World Leaders?! Challenge accepted!" The king removed his crown and grey coat and gave them to Keldeo. The queen removed her crown, ear rings, and necklace, giving them to Magus.

"Guard my son," she asked of Magus.

"Yes, Majesty," Magus replied, taking the queen's aipom son inside the palace.

"I can assure, you, Mkono," the king boasted. "Nothing you can do will stop me. And remember that ultimately, you brought this on yourself!"

The king made the first move by striking the ground with his tail, using Earthquake. The queen jumped over the rumbling ground and tossed a Shock Wave at him. He blocked it with a timely use of Protect. After that, he began pouring his Dark Blessing into his attacks, starting with a Thunderbolt. It blasted the queen straight into the wall of her palace. At the sight of this, the Twilight Kingdom Army cheered for their king.

"Stay down if you know what's good for you, you primal broad!" Keldeo taunted from the sidelines.

The queen got back up, determined to defend her country.

"See how hopeless this match is?" the king boasted. "Just make it easy on us both."

"A good leader stands with their country, no matter what," Mkono recited to herself. She rushed forth, readying a Fire Punch with her left tail hand and a Thunder Punch with her right tail hand. Neither connected, but the Focus Punch she readied with both the fists on her arms came close. The king grabbed hold of the sneak attack and lifted her over his head. He then tossed her upward, catching her by the tails and swinging her over his head. Once he released her, she went flying through the window of her throne room. Not giving her a chance to recover, he shot a Hyper Beam at the palace's second floor, significantly damaging it. To everyone's surprise, the queen wasn't defeated even by that. She was getting badly battered, though, which was evident by her limping out of the palace's front door.

"Well, well, your dedication to Swadfrieg sure isn't helping you triumph over me, now is it?" the king taunted. "See what happens when you try to defend ignorance?"

The queen still wasn't backing down. From inside the metal box Pelame was sealed in, she could see out the bars of it. "YOU CAN DO IT, QUEEN MKONO!" she cheered. "DESTROY HIM!"

Neve, Blessing, and Treasure couldn't help but be taken aback by what they heard Pelame say.

"Even if Swadfrieg falls," the queen said with resolve. "I'll gladly fall with it."

"That may very well be your fate," the king responded. The battle resumed once more with the king dodging the queen's Water Pulse attack and retaliating with a Hammer Arm attack. This knocked the queen down again, and this time, she stayed down. She had no energy to stand back up. The king advanced on her. "As expected. The weakest World Leader loses to the strongest. That's what you get for upholding the ignorance and misunderstanding of the world. So…"

Pelame began banging desperately on the box, trying to break out of it.

"Long live the queen!" The king shot a Demon-fueled Hyper Beam at the queen. The Twilight Kingdom Army watched in anticipation, Pelame and her group watched in horror, and the Swadfrieg Administration in the palace watched in fear as the attack was made. Just before it connected, something incredible happened. An Alpha Barrier blocked the attack, caught it, and tossed it back at the king, hitting him directly. Pelame had broken out of her makeshift prison and was now savagely attacking the king, not giving him a chance to fight back. To say the least, it was a shocking sight. Never before in all her life had Pelame hated a Pokémon so much that she was now actively trying to murder him. The king couldn't rise to his feet after Pelame finished bludgeoning him with her Alpha Power. Standing over her fallen enemy, she began summoning every bit of Alpha Energy she had reserved, creating a giant orb of light above herself that grew to be half the size of the palace grounds.

"NONE OF YOU SCUMS OF POCKETURN WILL SURVIVE!" she screamed.

"…Pelame...?" Neve called out in horror. The last thing she thought she'd see was her kind and sweet daughter willing to kill many thousands of Pokémon all at once. But considering everything she knew her daughter had been through, she understood how she felt. Her daughter had utterly snapped.

Pelame tossed her attack at the Twilit Army. Acting on its own, the king's Request Stone flew forth and created a dark barrier, dissolving Pelame's attack once the two forces came into contact with one another. Pelame's drastic attempt to save Pocketurn was thwarted. Creating and using that failed attack caused Pelame to sacrifice all of her energy, causing her to faint on the spot. Neve, Blessing, and Treasure, whose cages were blasted open by residual energy from Pelame's successful escape, went to their fallen friend and blew the Eon Flute. The Eon Duo arrived and picked up their passengers, flying off without asking for a destination when they noticed the situation that was going on. When they left, the king then struggled to his feet.

"There's no doubt now whose side she and her friends are on," he said to his army. "The terms of the duel have been violated. So, in accordance to that, Swadfrieg is ours!"

The Army cheered for their technical victory.

* * *

In the skies over International Waters, Pelame finally awakened.

"Unnnh... where are we…?" she asked. She then perked up. "Wait, what about Swadfrieg?! Where's the queen?"

Pelame's friends looked at her sadly.

"You don't mean…?"

"We're sorry, Pelame," Neve said, voice breaking. "King Kangaskhan II conquered Swadfrieg."

"No… this can't be… no…!" Pelame began to cry. "Why… WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!" she wailed loudly, sobbing into her mother's shoulder.

* * *

That night, the capital of Swadfrieg had finished being remodeled to suit the country's new ownership. King Kangaskhan II stood on the front porch of the palace with a microphone in front of him. Keldeo had a news camera set up to broadcast throughout the nation.

"Citizens of Swadfrieg," the king began. "I am King Kangaskhan II of the Twilight Kingdom. Moments ago, Queen Mkono of Swadfrieg fell in combat against me. She made a failed attempt to defend the ignorance of this nation. Swadfrieg is hereby a colony under the ownership of the Twilight Kingdom! Under this new leadership, a prosperous age of reason, wisdom, and understanding will begin! So say I, the King of what will soon be the Twilight World!"

The king switched the microphone off, which Keldeo knew was the time to cut the camera, ending the nationwide broadcast. Now, all of Swadfrieg knew what had happened.

"Where to next, sire?" Keldeo asked in anticipation.

"Well, now that this nation knows who it belongs to," the king answered. "We have no business staying here. Leona will remain here, though, along with a share of the Army. She shall be the Governor of this colony. As for the rest of us, we'll spread out and colonize any area we see fit. So, strike wherever you wish."

"Yes, sir."

"And if you run into any more resistance or catch up to the traitors who just escaped, feel free to put an end to them. But remember this, too, and let the Army know this as well: Pelame must not die by anyone's hand other than mine. If she dies, I will, too, as Unod warned me long ago. And for Pocketurn's own good, that must not happen."

"Then, how will be deal with her?"

"The closer we get to Genesis Day, the stronger Alpha and Demon Power gets. Soon, I will gain the ability to kill an opponent so completely, all traces of them will be gone, including even their immortal soul. The ability known as Disappearing. That is how Pelame will be dealt with. That way, her soul and her Alpha Power will die with her."

"I understand, sire. I look forward to that day."

"Let the Army know that Pelame is not to be killed. But feel free to kill any other traitor any way you like."

"It would be my greatest pleasure, sire." Keldeo left the palace. The king turned to Queen Mkono, whom he had turned into a Mortite statue.

"That shall be your fate on that day, too," he stated. "You and the other World Leaders. With you, all traces of Pocketurn's wretched ignorance will vanish."


	36. Pelame's Vow

Chapter 36 – Pelame's Vow

* * *

"I'm close to Shizazoto, sir," Walton said to Keldeo over the phone. "Along with the troops I brought with me, I'm striking Denkidako first."

"That's an excellent place to start," Keldeo replied. "Their technology could be useful to us. Be sure to seek out any weapons factories when you get there. And remember: you can kill any traitor you want, except for Pelame. If you should run into her, detain her, but don't kill her."

"Understood, sir. Out of curiosity, where are you headed?"

"Tradja. I remember hearing from Pelame—_before that backstabbing little brat betrayed us, mind you_—about a place called Stepalas, and I'd like to find some of those Orbs of Silence. Those could be useful to us, too. Can't have traitors blabbing about anything important they find out about us on the unlikely event that they escape our custody."

"Good forethought, sir. I'd like to have one of those, myself."

"I'll be sure to give one to each of the Elite Nine once I find them. Good luck, Walton. Let me know when Denkidako is yours."

"I shall, sir. Good luck to you, too."

Both Pokémon hung their airplanes' phones up and eagerly anticipated their arrival at their destinations.

* * *

Back in the colony once known as the country of Swadfrieg, Leona had finished redecorating Bihda Palace up in Twilight Kingdom regalia. The same was going on in the rest of the city, as well as the rest of the continent. Anything resembling how Swadfrieg looked under Queen Mkono's rule and that of her predecessors were disposed of and replaced with things suiting the country's new jurisdiction. The citizens of Swadfrieg cowered in fear and alarm as all of this went on.

It was not only the inanimate Friegan objects that got disposed of, though. The Friegan citizens were all taken to the City Halls of their counties and put through a process that erased their Friegan citizenship and made them Twilit citizens. Within only one day, Swadfrieg as it was once known, completely vanished.

"One step closer to His Majesty's noble goal," Leona said to herself in triumph. "The Twilight World will be beautiful…"

* * *

Near Rogokosoka was Shizazoto's technological center, the city of Denkidako. It was there that Walton and a share of the Twilit Army that had been put under her command had arrived. They landed on the Twilit Military Base and met with the general in charge of the base.

"Welcome, Miss Walton," greeted the mightyena general to his superior. "Might I ask why you have the Twilight Kingdom's sigil emblazoned on your hips?"

"That's simple, Dible. It's to signify that I'm a top-ranking servant of the Twilight King, and that I have a Dark Blessing to serve him with."

"I see. Well, don't misuse that power. You know how dangerous it is. Anyway, I presume you have business here?"

"Indeed I do, along with the twenty soldiers I brought here," Walton answered.

"Must be special if you brought the Raticate Raiders with you. What's the job?"

"Special mission from the king and Captain Keldeo: conquering Denkidako."

"Ah, so we're expanding this base's soil, eh?"

"In a sense."

"I see. Admittedly, I was surprised to hear the king announce conquest plans, but I gotta say he really is what the world needs right now."

"Then, can I count on your cooperation?"

"Certainly."

"Excellent. Then let's begin by setting up a strategy to invade City Hall."

"It'll sure be quite a job."

So the members of the Twilit Military got together to set up an invasion plan to be enacted.

* * *

Neve's biggest concern was the well-being of her daughter. She had requested Latios and Latias to drop them off at their old home in Rogokosoka, thinking that it would be helpful to Pelame. Within that old house (which hadn't been inhabited since Pelame and her family moved out of there) tucked in a lonely corner of a neighborhood far away from the city proper now dwelt her, Pelame, Blessing, and Treasure, who were all on the run from the Twilight Kingdom. Out of all of them, none were as in a bad spot as Pelame, who was currently experiencing a huge whirlwind of emotions. Sadness for the world, anger and hate for King Kangaskhan II, her father, and her boyfriend, hurt for herself, and regret for buying into the king's cunning.

_"__Why is this happening…?"_ she thought as she drifted off to sleep in her old bedroom.

By the next morning, everyone had slept off the jet lag. The date was now Ninthmonth 8th, 1512, Shizazoto time. Pelame joined her mother downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning, Pelame," Neve greeted.

"Morning, mom…" Pelame answered, still feeling glum as she sat down at the table.

"Feeling any better?"

"Not really."

"I see. Well, let's just see how today goes. I figured we'd just spend a day here in our old home of Rogokosoka. How's that sound?"

"Sounds good. I've missed this place. Even in its decrepit form, this house sure is nostalgic."

"It sure is. Too bad we won't be staying in it for too long. But on the bright side, we may get to stay with Emperor Kentahito once we meet with him. I'd love that so much."

At that, Pelame could bring herself to give her mother a soft smile. No matter how down she felt, hearing her mother be so joyful about anything never failed to lift her own spirits.

"Then let's make a trip there after we're done here, huh?"

"Sounds like a plan, Pelame. Of course, we'll first have to get new passports for ourselves, as well as apply for citizenship here. There's no doubt that the king revoked our Twilit citizenship."

"He WHAT?!" Blessing called out as soon as she was wheeled into the living room by Treasure.

"Oh, good morning! How'd you two sleep?" Neve asked in a friendly tone.

"Like a snorlax," Blessing and Treasure both answered, much to Neve's amusement.

"Sounds like we're all caught up to Zotoan time, then," Neve replied. "I'm sure you're all hungry, too, so I made enough for us all."

And so they all did. And after breakfast, a day plan was put together. They started at the Citizenship Office where they all applied to be citizens of Shizazoto.

"Don't blame you a bit for this decision," said the kangaskhan administering the process, upon hearing their reason why they were there. "I've heard about what happened to Swadfrieg, and I'm very livid at the Twilight King, too. I'm almost ashamed to be the same species as him!"

"Me too!" added the child in her pouch. "The Twilight King's a jerk! He erased Swadfrieg!"

"Simmer down, my daughter. Anyway, just fill these forms out, and they'll be sent to Daoyin for verification. Then you'll all be Zotoan Citizens!"

"Neat! Thanks!" Pelame said, getting started filling her form out.

"You know, it's kinda ironic, eh?" Blessing said. "Here the king is basically trying to erase all nations that aren't his own, and now here we are erasing our Twilit nationalities."

"Well, the king basically did that already when he hit listed us," Treasure responded. "Well, if he really did hit list us, that is. Might as well take on friendlier nationalities."

"Yeah. Though I'm sure everyone's gonna know we're not Zotoan just by looking at us. Well, except for Neve, that is. And maybe Pelame, who's half-Zotoan and half-Twilit."

"I'm not Twilit," Pelame said rather forcefully. "Never was."

"Uh, Pelame, it's clear by just looking at you—"

"I'm not Twilit! I never was! And if I ever see a member of the Twilit Army again, I'll kill them!" Pelame suddenly shouted. Blessing was no small amount of surprised to see her friend lash out like that.

"Okay… okay… you're not Twilit."

"And _this_," Pelame said as she finished filling out her form. "…will ensure I'm Zotoan, like I really am." She handed her form to the kangaskhan receptionist.

"Thank you," the receptionist said. "You'll receive your citizenship forms in the mail by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Treasure asked. "This process goes _that_ fast?"

"Yep," Neve answered. "This office works very diligently."

"That we do!" agreed the receptionist's daughter who received everyone else's forms. "Thanks for visiting!"

"You're very welcome," Neve responded as she bowed.

"And just so you know, only this office and the hospital, restaurants serve non-citizens. I'd suggest taking that lady… Blessing, right?"

"Yep," Blessing answered.

"Okay. Anyway, she should probably go to the hospital to get that cast checked out. She doesn't look comfortable."

"Nah, it's fine. But it's about time for it to come off. Thanks for reminding me, by the way."

"Then, shall we go to the hospital?" Neve asked.

"Sure."

"All right, then let's go."

* * *

In Denkidako City Hall, Governor Enjinkumo had finished overviewing the province's census and was getting ready to move on to the budget report.

_"__So busy in the months before Genesis Day…"_ he mentally complained.

"Need some help with that?"

"No thanks. I'll be—" Enjinkumo stopped himself when he realized how unfamiliar the voice offering him help sounded. He looked up from his paper and noticed the female furfrou with the Matron Trim. "Who might you be? Did you schedule an appointment?"

"My name is Walton, and no, I did not schedule anything," Walton introduced.

"Well, sorry to sound rude, but you can't just barge into my office. May you please wait outside?"

"Wait outside _my_ office? Not a chance."

"_Your_ office?! What nerve you have!"

"Well, it's only natural, considering that this is soon going to be my property."

"And what makes you think that, huh?!"

"Ah, so I guess you didn't hear the king's decree. Well, let me summarize: King Kangaskhan II has started a noble mission to erase ignorance from the world. And the world is going to have to belong to him in order for that to be possible. Which is why I'm here, to ask that you please give Denkidako to me."

The galvantula laughed at the Elite Nine soldier. "Sorry, but I'm keeping this city and province! No way am I giving into you or your crazy king! And by the way, I did hear what he did to Bihda and the rest of Swadfrieg, so if you think you're gonna do the same here, you can think again!" Enjinkumo pressed the "alarm" button on his desk. "My guards will show you out now." However, there was no alarm sounding.

"*sigh* okay then. Looks like you've forced my paw." Her Twilit Sigil glowed, calling forth the Raticate Raiders and General Dible. "Good work getting the guards out of the way, Dible."

"No problem, milady."

"And Raiders, good job disabling the alarm system."

"No problem!" responded the twenty raticate.

"Well, Enjinkumo, looks like you're backed into a corner. I'll accept a peaceful surrender now."

"Urgh…" Enjinkumo grumbled, seeing how bleak the situation was.

* * *

"Gosh… of all the casts I've removed from patients of all ages," began the chansey doctor who was treating Blessing at the hospital. "Never have I removed one from _that_ particular region of the body. I admit to being curious as to how in the world you sustained this injury."

"It's a long story involving a terrorist burning me and causing a wall to fall on me, among other damage."

"That must've been very painful."

"Oh, it was. Most painful to my pride, though. Having this thing on my butt really ruined my perfect figure, and I'm so happy that I'm finally gonna get it removed. Even though it _is_ kinda comfortable…" Blessing blushed as she admitted this.

"Well, it's safe to, considering that you can walk now. Once I get that cast off of you, you'll be able to walk much more comfortable."

"Yeah, I'd hate to be walking around with an eternal crouch like I had rickets or something. Now let's get it off already!"

"No need to rush me. I'll have it off soon. I just need you to assume the position."

"Assume _what_ position, exactly?"

"Any position that puts your posterior within my reach will be fine."

"Just making sure." Blessing then crouched her upper body down onto the floor as low as she could go while pointing her behind up as far as she could reach.

"No need to stretch like that. You'll hurt yourself!"

"Sorry." Blessing lowered her behind a little bit, just to the point where she no longer had to tiptoe. "How's that?"

"Perfect. Now just hold still." The chansey doctor went around to Blessing's rear and grabbed the cast. "Whoa… it's on there tight!" was all she had to say in response to the cast refusing to come off or even come remotely loose. Blessing tried waving her rear back and forth to help jostle it off. That didn't help, either.

"Unh… oof… pull harder…!" Blessing urged.

"It's stuck! Did the doctor who put this on you hammer it on or something?!"

"Sure seems like it. It almost feels like it's been vacuum-packed onto me. Can't you get it off?"

"Evidently, pulling won't work. I'll have to cut it off."

"What?!"

"Standard procedure for arm and leg casts. But for posterior casts, this'll be a delicate procedure."

"Well, don't slice my butt open! I need it to sit down! Not to mention showing it off!"

"Why would you want to show it off?!"

"Well, a perfect figure like mine ought to be seen by as many Pokémon as possible. So don't ruin it!"

"I won't. I have experience with cast removal, after all. Still, you're quite arrogant to call yourself perfect like that."

"Heh… you sound like my friend Pelame. She's the eevee with the white bow and the notched right ear in the waiting room, by the way. She tells me stuff like that, too. She hates it when I show my butt off."

"Well, I'd hope _someone_ would. That's quite a gross thing for you to do." The doctor located her cast cutter and brought it over to Blessing. "Don't worry, though. I won't ruin your 'perfect figure'. And even if I accidentally do, I'll gladly give you 300 Pokéns as malpractice compensation. Now hold perfectly still."

"All right…" Blessing took a deep breath, trying her darndest to relax herself. The doctor could tell how nervous Blessing was. She patted the sneasel patient's back.

"You're doing good. I'm almost through."

"Good… I don't know how much more of this I can take… just _please_ don't stab me in the butt. Please…"

"Gosh, you sound like you're begging me for your very life. Just relax; we're almost done."

The doctor was able to finish splitting the cast down the middle. All that had to be done now was peel the two halves apart. Then at last, the cast was off.

"We're done," the doctor said.

"Ahh… yes…" Blessing sat down on the nearby chair. "Gonna miss how that donated cinccino fur felt, but GOODNESS is it a relief to have that thing off my butt. I can sit down again!"

"That's good, but there's no need for you to rub your posterior on that chair."

"Ah…" she stood up. "Heh heh… sorry, doc… and thanks so much. You're the best."

"The best? Oh, not a chance."

"No, really. Thank you so much! Now, uhh… where's the bathroom at?"

"Got one right here." The doctor pointed to the door in the back of the room.

"Thanks." Blessing ran toward it and hastily entered. "What the… where's the lock on this door?!"

"There is no lock on any door other than the ones used to enter this building. Don't worry; I won't come in there. Just feel free to use the facilities in there."

"Okay." Blessing found the toilet in a separate room in the back of the one she was in, which only had a sink. _"That's one weird-looking toilet…"_ she thought as she entered the other room. It was oval-shaped and in the ground. A small round hood was located at the back of it. _"Where on this thing do I sit?"_

* * *

In the waiting room, Pelame, Neve, and Treasure awaited treatment of their friend to finish.

"I hope she's doing okay…" Treasure said, worried.

"I think she'll be fine," Neve reassured.

"I bet she's gonna feel so relieved to be able to walk again," Pelame added. "What'll we do once we're done here? We can't go anywhere without our new IDs."

"I guess we'll just have to go back home and do all our plans tomorrow."

"Excuse me, are you three new here?" asked a grovyle who overheard that part of the conversation.

"Two of us are," Treasure answered. "Neve grew up here, and for a while, so did Pelame."

"Pelame? One of you is Pelame?"

"Yep, that'd be me," Pelame answered.

"Neat! My cousin Morikain told me all about you!"

"Your cousin?"

"You bet! I'm his cousin, Hanada. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you, too!"

"So, what're you here for?"

"One of my friends is getting a cast removed. How about you?"

"I'm here with my dad. He's getting a routine physical right now. By the way, I overheard you mention something about new IDs. You wouldn't happen to be moving here, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, we are."

"How come?"

Before Pelame got a chance to answer, Blessing entered the waiting room, looking overjoyed. She went and hugged Treasure.

"So, I guess you're feeling great, huh?" Treasure responded.

"Yep!" Blessing answered joyfully. "I can walk again, run again, and best of all…"

"I bet I know what's coming," Pelame and Neve whispered to one another.

"…I can shake again!"

"I presume this lady here is the friend you were waiting for?" Hanada asked.

"Yep," Pelame said. "This is Blessing. And this is my mother Neve, and my other friend Treasure."

"Hey there," Blessing said to the new face. "You Morikain?"

"Nope, but I'm his cousin."

"I see. I can tell by your tail that you're Zotoan. How do you guys use toilets here? Your toilets look like urinals stuck in the ground. I couldn't figure out where on it I was supposed to sit, so I didn't sit on it."

"Well, that's actually the entire point to that kind of toilet. You crouch over it."

"I remember how strange it was seeing a bowl toilet when I moved with Pinna back to the Twilight Kingdom," Neve said.

"The Twilight Kingdom? Is that where you're moving here from?"

"Yep."

"Out of curiosity, why's that?"

Before Neve could answer, a sceptile came out of the other doctor's office.

"Just remember, Eroma," said the blissey doctor. "No need to get excited over the Tournament."

"Got it, doc," Eroma responded. He went over to his daughter.

"How'd it go, dad?" Hanada asked.

"It went well. I'm healthy. No worries."

"That's great!"

"And I see you met some tourists."

"Yep. And one of them is Pelame."

"Ooh, that's great!" Eroma turned over to Pelame and her friends. "You four happen to have passports?"

"Nope. Sorry," Pelame answered.

"Ah. That's too bad. Mayor Mimizuda recently made a ridiculous new policy that makes Pokémon have to be carded when they go just about anywhere. So, why not come with us?"

"I think that'd be a great idea! Can we, mom?"

"Sure!" Neve answered.

"All right! My car can hold you all. Let's go!"

* * *

A small taxi cab was approaching the county border that divided Rogokosoka and Denkidako. The driver was an audino, and his passenger was Morikain. As soon as they reached the border, they were stopped.

"What the…?" the driver wondered aloud. "Why am I being pulled over?"

"Welcome to Denkidako," greeted the raticate who approached the taxi.

"Hello there. I'm just curious as to why I'm being pulled over. This never happened before."

"New policy, courtesy of the province's new Governor. You are entering Twilit soil, so standard procedures must be observed. IDs and passports, please."

"Wait a second. I'm just dropping a passenger off in this city—"

"Oh. Well then, you may leave. Please let out your passenger."

"You heard him, sir," the driver said to Mori, who exited the cab feeling very confused. The cab then turned back and left.

"Passport, please," requested the raticate.

"Here you go," Mori said, taking his passport out of his backpack and giving it to the raticate. "By the way, what do you mean 'we're entering Twilit soil'? Denkidako belongs to Shizazoto, you know."

"Not anymore. It's under new management. And I see by your passport that you're Zotoan. Which, I could also tell that from your single tail. Twilit grovyle had two tails. Friegan grovyle had a longer head leaf, so on so on. Anyway, as you're Zotoan, you will have to see the Governor."

"What? Why?"

"She'll explain. Now, come along."

The raticate led Mori into a small orange hatchback car and drove into the city with it.

"Sorry for the cramped ride, Morikain," he said. "It's good for my miniscule species, but maybe not for yours."

"It's fine," Mori replied.

"We're here, by the way." He parked his car in front of Denkidako City Hall's front porch, dropping Mori off. At the front door, another raticate greeted him.

"Another one, eh?" the other raticate said. "Okay, I'll take it from here." He waved at the raticate driving the car, signaling him to leave and report to another duty. "Follow me." Mori did so. The raticate opened the door for Mori and allowed him in.

"I see another foreign visitor entered my city."

"Yes, Lady Walton. I'll leave him to you." The raticate took his leave. After the door shut, Walton turned her chair around to greet Mori.

"Welcome to Denkidako," she greeted. "I heard of your arrival. May I see your passport?"

"Yeah…" Mori answered, still feeling confused as he gave his passport to the new Governor. "Where's Enjinkumo? Isn't he supposed to be the Governor here?"

"I relieved him of his spot. I assure you that I will answer all your questions as best I can. I'm sure you want to ask me why I'm the new Governor and why this province is now recognized as Twilit soil, so I'll answer those first." She gave Mori his passport back.

"You read my mind there," Mori replied.

"Very funny. Now then, I'll explain, so please have a seat."

Mori obeyed, sitting on the chair facing Walton's desk.

"You see, Morikain, Pocketurn has a gigantic problem plaguing it. Ignorance and stubbornness is that problem. My king, King Kangaskhan II of the Twilight Kingdom, has decided to do something about it. His decision was to gain control of Pocketurn, as uniting the world under his rule is the only way it can return to being reasonable. Along with my fellow guards, I have embarked on a mission to help the king in his noble quest. And so my travels took me here to Shizazoto. I began with this very city/province right here, as its technological resources could prove very useful to us. And soon, I will move on to other regions in this country until all of it becomes Twilit soil."

As Mori listened to all of this, he couldn't help but feel horrified and angry.

"That… is really tyrannical!" he said with a raised voice. "It sounds like megalomania!"

"I assure you, Morikain, it is anything but that. Of course, traitors all over the world are going to try to convince you that that's the case when it isn't at all. It's best not to heed their words. Now, anyway, as for why you were brought here, I've made it an order that any non-Twilit visiting my territory is to be brought to me for a special purpose. That being…" Walton reached into her desk and got out a piece of paper. She slid it over the desk to Mori along with a pencil. "…that. Fill that form out, please."

Mori took a look at the paper in front of him. It had fields for his name, race, hometown, occupation, age, date of birth, all the works of an official government document. What got his attention most was the document's title of "Twilit Re-Citizenship Application".

"'Twilit Re-Citizenship'?" Mori asked, almost demanding.

"This form will see to your integration into Twilit society. All relics of the old ignorant world need to vanish, and that includes other nationalities. You will become an official citizen of our country once you fill that form out."

"But I don't want to be a Twilit citizen. Shouldn't my passport have been enough to permit me here? Besides, I only came here to get to Minari International Airport. I wasn't even going to stay here at all."

"Morikain, filling this form out now will be convenient for you. Once the world becomes Twilit, you won't want to be a citizen of nowhere, do you?"

"No. But I like being a citizen of Shizazoto. This form is basically asking me permission for you to erase my nationality. And I don't want to become something and someone I'm not."

"Morikain, be careful with your choice of words. You're sounding treasonous right now, and that's a severe crime."

"Wait, so keeping my Zotoan identity is a crime to you Pokémon?! You can't really be serious about this, can you?!"

"Watch your tone. I will not warn you again. Fill the form out, or you will be prosecuted for treason."

Mori said nothing to that. He picked the pen up and touched it to the form. He began at the area where he was to put his name.

"Good. You'll find that this decision will be your wisest."

Mori had only put down the letter "M" so far. Before moving on to the "o", he suddenly tightened his grip on the pen and scribbled lines all over the form.

"Whoa… hey! Stop that at once! That's an official document!"

Walton reached forward to swipe the paper and pen from Mori. Once she did so, he hit her with an Energy Ball attack. While she was dazed, he ran out of the office, making sure to break her intercom as well. He escaped from City Hall and made a beeline for the airport, which was about seven blocks away. Once he reached the fourth of those blocks, he was suddenly shot in the back of the head with a dart of some kind. He lost consciousness once it hit him.

"He'll be out for three minutes," Walton said to the three raticate flanking her. "Use that time to restrain him."

"Yes, Lady Walton!" responded the three raticate. They got to work restraining Mori, beginning by putting cuffs on his hands and feet. They put another cuff on his muzzle, sealing his mouth shut. They finished by slipping a Lum Scarf over his mouth and tying it tightly. At that point, Mori was beginning to come to. By the time he fully awakened, he was too bound up to move. His arms and legs were bound together by the short chains on the cuffs binding his hands and feet, making him effectively immobile.

"Just dealing with a dangerous criminal, everyone!" Walton said to the alarmed citizens observing this. They all went back to their business upon hearing that. Walton walked up to Mori and looked him in the eyes. "You made a big mistake attacking me. It was bad enough that you refused to become a Twilit citizen, but attacking a public official and attempting to escape your just punishment has ensured your sealed fate. Altogether, you've accumulated a rather big count of high treason to the Twilight World. And for that, you will be executed."

Mori's eyes widened in surprised fear.

"I think I'll use your execution to warn other would-be traitors that we of the Twilit Military and Government are not to be trifled with." Walton looked back at the Twilight World Sigil on her hip and spoke into it. "Bring the van to the Kamina District, in front of the Bateson's Convenience Store." After making that call, she focused back on Mori, who was trying to struggle out of his restraints. "You think you can break out of those? How cute! But you've got no hope doing so. And you most certainly won't escape a pair of iron shoes and iron gloves."

Just then, a black van with the Twilight World Sigil on it pulled up. Walton opened the back door of it and pulled out the shoes and gloves she mentioned.

"Tailor-made for your species," Walton gloated. She strapped them onto Mori's feet and hands. Now, Mori could hardly move at all. He was then loaded into the van by Walton and all twenty of the Raticate Raiders that were in the van. They climbed inside and shut the door behind them, locking it. "Okay, everyone. We're taking this traitor to Denkidako Dam. We'll use the lake to dispose of him and broadcast his watery undoing to all of Shizazoto. That should teach everyone that we aren't to be messed around with."

Walton got into the driver's seat and started on the way to the dam.

* * *

Eroma arrived back at his house with his passengers in tow. It was located in a neighborhood that appeared to be very ritzy. His house was the only one on the block that had a gate around it. It opened for him once he pressed a button on a small remote he had next to the driver's seat. He pulled into the driveway and parked.

"Welcome to my place!" Eroma said. "If you're wondering about all the other cars in here, well… why don't we just go inside?"

Eroma and Hanada led Pelame and her companions inside the big three-story house. Inside, there were many Pokémon. The living room was quite crowded.

"You see?" Eroma said. "Annual family reunion!"

"Family reunion?" Pelame answered in excitement. "Then… then… is Mori here?!"

"Sorry, but you missed him," answered a nuzleaf. "My son already left. He's probably on a plane back to Tradja by now."

"…I see… wish I'd gotten here sooner…" Pelame's tone then lifted a little to show courtesy. "So, you're his father?"

"Sure am. I'm Takezaki," the nuzleaf introduced. He pointed to the female Sceptile next to him. "And this is my wife Sazeki."

"Nice to meet you all," Sazeki said.

"And I see you've met my brother Eroma already. Such a rascal, eh?"

"Zaki… not now…" Eroma said, embarrassed.

"Anyway, here's the rest of the family!" He began with the simisage next to his brother. "That's Kinomesaru, my sister-in-law, and the grovyle there is their daughter Hanada. And over here…" He went over to the Sunflora on the couch. "…is my sister-in-law's sister Himawaritsu, and the vileplume next to her is her husband Rafuresha." There were three sunkern and an oddish watching cartoons on the TV. "And their kids are Shushi, Tanemi, Makuba, and Kaiwarina." He then went over to the elderly shiftry. "And this is my dad Kokoki…" and then to the elderly bellossom. "…and my mother Odorara." He then went over to the two jumpluff. "And finally, these two are Rafuresha's brothers Momenno and Menkada, my other brothers-in-law! And that's the whole family!"

"It's very nice to meet all of you!" Pelame responded with lots of joy. "Such a nice-looking family you all are!"

"Heh, you're much too kind. So, uh, who are you?"

"Oh, sorry for forgetting to introduce myself. I'm Pelame."

"Pelame?!" exclaimed the whole family. The whole family flocked over to her.

"Mori wouldn't shut up about you!"

"You're just as adorable as I pictured you!"

"Ooohh, you're adorable!"

"Welcome to Shizazoto!"

"Tell us a history story!"

"You look gorgeous!"

Pelame couldn't make out whose voice was whose. She backed her way out of the crowd.

"It's nice to meet you all, but I never thought I'd get a reception like this…" she said, dazed.

"Oh, if you're thinking things are crazy in this house, you should've been here during the Daoyinkken Tournament. This house lost its—"

"No need to get colorful in front of our guests," Sazeki scolded.

"Heh… sorry… but really, this house got loouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud."

"What for?" Blessing asked.

"Did you say the Daoyinkken Tournament passed already?" Neve asked.

"Yep," Zaki answered. "And it sure was amazing this year. Sure better than the snoozefest from last year."

"What exactly is the Daoyinkken Tournament?" Treasure asked.

"Only the biggest sporting event in the whole nation of Shizazoto!"

"Pelame, do you remember the tournament Promised Land had last Genesis Day?" Neve asked.

"Sure do," Pelame answered.

"Well, the Daoyinkken Tournament is exactly the same deal. It's a national sport that takes place in Daoyin at this time every year."

"Correct!" Zaki interjected. "And we all have a big family reunion to watch the Tournament every year! We're all going our separate ways tomorrow, so it's good you came by when you did. Too bad you missed my son, though."

"Yeah… I miss him…"

"Well, I'll tell him you dropped by. He's gonna call me when he arrives in Tradja—"

"Hey! Where'd the show go?!" demanded Shushi. "Get off the screen, you ugly furfrou!"

_"__Furfrou?!"_ Pelame thought to herself. She rushed over to the TV.

_"__Greetings, citizens of Shizazoto,"_ Walton said on the TV. _"I'm speaking to you live from Denkidako Dam. I am Walton, the new Governor of Denkidako."_

Pelame watched intently and with steadily rising anger.

_"__I am one of the Elite Nine Soldiers of the Twilit Kingdom's Royal Guard, and Denkidako, under my management, is now Twilit soil. Earlier today, a bold rebel dared to challenge me, but I am pleased to say that he failed. And now, he is going to pay for it with his life. Bear witness to the traitor…"_ Walton stepped aside to reveal Mori, who was gagged, bound, and weighted. _"…and his final moments alive. And to anyone who thinks of messing with the Twilight Kingdom, consider this a warning!"_

"MY BOY!" Zaki screamed in anguish.

Pelame ran outside without a word and blew the Eon Flute, summoning the Eon Duo. They arrived in an instant.

"Good thing we were in the neighborhood," Latias said. "Where to?"

"Denkidako Dam! And step on it!" Pelame ordered.

"Got it!" The Eon Duo took off with Pelame coming along. Unknown to her, Neve, Blessing, and Zaki got on Latios at the last second. Treasure just barely missed her chance.

* * *

Walton walked over to Mori and pushed him into the lake, safely away from the dam's intake vents.

"Keep the camera on him," Walton ordered at the raticate holding the camera. "Don't stop recording until I say so. When he stops moving, that doesn't automatically mean he's dead."

As Mori sank to the bottom of the lake, he tried as hard as he could to struggle out of his bonds. They weren't loosening no matter how desperately he tried to make them. Before long, he reached the bottom. He was pinned there by the heavy iron accessories affixed to his hands and feet. He was completely trapped, unable to move and unable to breathe. Though his lungs' time limit began as soon as he went below the water, now was the time he felt he had to escape before it ran out. He tried once again to struggle out of his restraints. He tugged his hands and feet outward as much as he could, thrashing against them with all his strength, but that wasn't working. He then tried hopping, but that also didn't work. He looked up at the surface, where the oxygen his lungs were starting to crave dwelled. He started trying to move upward, but the iron gloves and shoes kept him firmly rooted to the spot. Nearly out of air, he started jostling around aimlessly. At this point, he had no other ideas on how to escape this situation, so he settled for that. He struggled and thrashed with all his might, fighting for his very life. Soon, though, his strength was starting to leave him. It was clear now that he'd run out of air. His struggles stopped and he slipped into unconsciousness. He floated there limply, unable to rise to the surface.

"There you have it, Shizazoto," Walton gloated. "Trifle with us, and _that_ will happen to you." She then made the gesture to cut filming, which the raticate cameraman obeyed. Just as soon as the camera was shut off, something went into the water. Nearly as quickly, it came back out. It was Latios, carrying Pelame, Zaki, and Mori.

"Well, since you got on Latios just as we left," Pelame said to him. "You take Mori back to the house."

"Will do," Zaki said. "Thanks, Pelame." He checked his son for a pulse. "He's alive, but barely. I'll get the water out of him."

"Okay."

The Eon Duo then took their passengers back to the house. Pelame stayed at the dam, with Neve and Blessing getting off Latias's back and accompanying her.

"Good of you to turn yourselves in," Walton gloated. "You're all going to pay for releasing that other traitor."

Pelame glared at Walton.

"Remember, Raiders: Pelame must remain alive, so restrain her. Feel free to kill those two with her, though."

"Yes, Governor!" responded the Raticate Raiders.

The Raiders who lunged at Pelame were taken out by her Iron Tail. One swing to the head knocked them out. She angrily stared at Walton as she did this. Once she was done, she advanced on the Governor while Neve and Blessing kept the remaining Raiders at bay.

"_Someone's_ mad, huh?" Walton taunted. "Should've thought of that before you betrayed us, shouldn't you have?"

Pelame had nothing to say to that.

"Speechless, too! This is just getting better and better! All right, then! I'll take care of you!"

Walton began by using Thunder Wave, which Pelame jumped over. As Pelame fell toward the Elite Nine soldier, she readied her Iron Tail and landed a direct hit on her head. After landing back on the ground, Pelame pelted Walton with a Swift attack. Walton doubled back and came forth with a Wild Charge attack. Pelame blocked it with an Alpha Barrier and then tossed an Alpha Orb at her face, landing another hit.

"Urgh… I must admit that I'm curious as to where this sudden bravado came from…" Walton grumbled.

"You… and your king… betrayed Pocketurn…" Pelame snarled. "You all need to die for the good of the world."

"Hmph… such typical rhetoric befitting a true traitor, shifting the blame onto the one trying to help the world. I'm not going to stand for this any more than my wise king will." Walton suddenly turned around and ran into the dam's powerhouse. Pelame quickly gave chase, as did Neve and Blessing, who had just finished taking down the rest of the Raticate Raiders.

"Where'd they go?" Blessing asked upon entering the powerhouse and finding a hall splitting two ways. Her voice echoed all throughout it.

"Just look anywhere," Neve answered.

* * *

Back at Eroma's house, the Eon Duo dropped Zaki and his unconscious son off.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but it's a relief having your son off my back," Latios said. "Those iron accessories really strained it."

"Sorry about that," Zaki responded. "Thanks for the ride. He'll be fine now."

The Eon Duo left.

"Gotta get these things off you, boy," Zaki said. "Gonna need some tools to do it, though. My Leaf Blade won't be enough to get through those gloves and shoes."

"Oh my goodness!" Sazeki exclaimed once she went outside and saw that her son was unconscious. "Wake up, son! Wake up!"

"Don't worry, mama. He's alive. We got to him in time. Listen, can you get Eroma's hacksaw? I need it to get this stuff off him."

"Yes. I'll be back." Sazeki went to go track her brother-in-law down. She felt immensely relieved to hear her son hadn't drowned. While she did that, Zaki stayed by his son's side. He lowered the scarf covering Mori's mouth and tried to open it, but the metal cuff on his muzzle kept his mouth tightly shut. The need to give mouth-to-mouth was voided once Mori started to breathe and stir. It sounded like he was coughing, but his mouth was sealed shut, so it was hard to tell.

"Mmm… mm nmm…" Mori mumbled.

"It's okay, son," Zaki reassured. "You're safe."

"Mmmhmm. Mm mmmf nmmgmmfmm."

"Quit trying to talk, will you? Wait 'till after I get that thing off your mouth."

"Mmm kmm…"

"I'll get those off of you soon. I just need Eroma's—"

"Here you go, bro!" Eroma said, giving his hacksaw to Zaki.

"Thanks!" Zaki put the saw in position, beginning at the iron shoes. Mori's eyes widened in panic.

"MMM! DMM KMMMN MMM!"

"Hush, son! I need to concentrate! That way, I won't accidentally cut you!"

Sazeki and Eroma both went up to Mori to hold him still. Zaki continued cutting through the lock on the shoes until he split them in half. After that, the shoes simply slid off. Zaki moved on to the gloves next and made similarly short work of those. The cuffs on his hands and feet lasted an ever shorter amount of time. And finally, he cut through the cuff gagging his son. Mori immediately spat out the water he coughed up.

"Ahhh… ooh… that's better!" Mori said in joyful relief. "Wow… I thought I was gonna drown down in the lake… wait—how'd I get back to Uncle's house?"

"Your pal Pelame was here," Zaki answered. "Soon as she saw that Matron-trimmed furfrou appear on the TV, she bolted. We followed her. And then we brought you back here once we fished you out of the lake. Thank goodness we got to you in time. If you'd died down there…" Zaki sniffled in sadness of the terrible thought of losing his son.

"Well, thanks for saving me, dad. And next time I see Pelame, I'll thank her, too."

* * *

Further into the powerhouse, Walton reached a communication room. She quickly got on the quadruped phone and began dialing. Before she could finish, an Alpha Orb destroyed the phone.

"Why you…!" Walton seethed when she noticed Pelame caught up to her. She was pelted with another stream of Swift attacks and Alpha Orbs. "Cut that out!"

Pelame glared at Walton, not uttering a word. Just then, Neve caught up to her daughter. Seeing this, Walton quickly created a Mortite knife and tossed it at her head. Pelame quickly blocked it and became even angrier. She generated an Alpha Cord and lashed it out like a whip, cracking it and creating a welt on Walton's torso. The furfrou screamed in agony. Pelame whipped Walton once more, causing the foe to scream even louder. Pelame did it a third time, hitting Walton's left front leg this time, damaging it.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!" Walton demanded in pain. "ARE YOU _THAT_ DEDICATED TO PRESERVING THIS WORLD'S IGNORANCE?!"

"Pelame…" Neve uttered in shock.

Pelame tied the cord around Walton's neck, strangling her with it. She then closed in on her and Purified her Dark Blessing out of her.

"There's no escape now," Pelame growled. She pointed her tail at Walton and shot a bolt of Alpha Electricity at her, blasting her backwards. She ran out of the room as quickly as she could. Pelame quickly gave chase once again. Neve quickly followed, as did Blessing, who'd caught up at that moment.

Walton ended up on the roof of the powerhouse, overlooking the other side of the dam. It was a drop of 198 meters from the roof to the river at the bottom of the dam's spillway. She was trapped.

_"__To think I'd lose my Dark Blessing to our #1 Public Enemy!"_ she thought in anger. _"She can't do this to me!"_

As soon as Pelame got onto the roof, Walton attempted to ambush her with a Giga Impact. It missed and put her into a position for Pelame to strike her with another bolt of Alpha Electricity. While she was stunned, she hit each of her legs with Iron Tail, injuring them even further.

"Why won't you leave me alone?!" Walton demanded after hitting the ground. "You already Purified me! Is that not good enough for you?!"

"Shut up!" Pelame ordered, hitting Walton in the mouth with her Iron Tail. The blow knocked out a few of her teeth. Neve and Blessing arrived just in time to see that brutal sight.

"OOWWW! STOP IT! YOU WON ALREADY!"

"SHUT UP!" Pelame repeatedly bashed Walton's head with her Iron Tail. One swing upside her chin send her head crashing into the metal guardrail around the roof, giving her a concussion. "You, your fellow soldiers, and the king have betrayed the world. _None_ of you deserve to live after that."

"Pelame?" Blessing asked in mortified shock.

"Darling, are you okay?" Neve asked in fearful concern.

"You will not return to your king, Walton," Pelame continued in her furious tone. "But he will find out that you failed. And mark my words, he'll be next."

"Y… you're crazy!" Walton exclaimed in fear.

"Accept your punishment like the supposed Elite Guard you are."

"Pelame, don't!" Neve pleaded.

"Yeah! Listen to your mother!" Walton said in fear of her very life. "I surrender! I'll go with you peacefully! Just don't hurt me anymore! Please!"

Pelame wasn't listening. All that was on her mind was avenging the betrayals that the Twilit Army was responsible for. She stepped forward with this resolve and zapped Walton with more Alpha Electricity. This time, she held her discharge of it for about twenty seconds. Once she let up, Walton could no longer even stand. Pelame then started whipping her with her Alpha Cord, each lash getting an agonized scream from the furfrou.

"Pelame, that's enough!" Neve cried. She went up to her daughter and attempted to stop her, but Pelame avoided her mother and continued lashing Walton. At last, she stopped. Walton lie on the edge of the roof, beaten to a pulp and completely broken. Pelame then charged at her with a Double-Edge attack, hurting her one last time and sending her careening off the roof and down to the spillway nearly two hundred meters below. She died immediately upon making impact with the water. Pelame glared down at her foe's corpse as it sunk into the river below.

"The Twilit Army and the king will join you soon," Pelame seethed. She turned to Neve and Blessing and blew her Eon Flute to call the Eon Duo. "Let's go."

The three of them climbed onto the Duos' backs. On the way to Eroma's house as Pelame requested, Neve and Blessing were unable to find words to express how horrified they were to see the eevee in front of them had made good on the death threat she made earlier in the day.


	37. Trip to Daoyin

**A/N: A big shoutout to my DeviantART pal Naguro, who helped with the French dialogue in this chapter. Thanks again!**

* * *

Chapter 37 – Trip to Daoyin

* * *

"Are you okay?!" Pelame frantically asked Mori.

"Yeah, Pelame, I'm fine," Mori answered. "Thanks to you, father, and Latios, that is. Gosh, I thought I was doomed to drown in that lake…"

"I'm happy to see you're safe, Mori." Pelame gave Mori an affectionate nuzzle, to the shock of his family.

"Uh… you know she _is_ touching you, right?" Hanada said to her cousin.

"She's Twilit, Hana," Mori responded. "She was raised—"

"No, I'm not," Pelame interrupted.

"Mori, you shouldn't have said that…" Blessing lamented.

"Huh? Why not?" Mori asked.

"I'm not Twilit. I never was."

"Thing is, she disowned her Twilit heritage out of her hatred of King Kangaskhan II," Treasure summarized.

"Wait, weren't you training with him?" Mori asked.

"Yes, I was!" Pelame snapped. "And he stabbed me and all of Pocketurn in the back! I hate him! I HATE HIM!"

"Pelame, calm down!" Neve ordered.

"We did hear that he invaded Swadfrieg," Zaki chimed in. "Is that what your daughter's talking about?"

"That's only a small part of it…" Neve began.

She then recounted what had happened from when Pelame was taken under the king's wing up to his conquest of Swadfrieg.

"That… is diabolical!" Mori said, outraged. "And to think we at TIGHS cheered you and him on when he was just using you!"

"It's okay, Mori," Pelame reassured. "None of us knew what he was up to. But now that things went the way they did, he'll live to regret it. As Arceus is my witness, his whole army will die!"

"Pelame…?"

"Hey, Pelame, little reality check," Blessing interjected. "Did you forget that your own father and boyfriend are members of the king's army?"

"Who?" Pelame curtly asked.

"Pinna and Pugno. Your father and boy—"

"I have no father! And no boyfriend, either!"

Mori's whole family was mortified at Pelame's announcement.

"Pelame, listen to yourself!" Neve begged. "You would actually kill your own father? And the boy you dated? Isn't it bad enough you already killed an Elite Nine?"

"She WHAT?!" Zeki cried in shock. "Mori, your friend's a murderer?!"

"I'm not a murderer!" Pelame defended. "I'm a savior! I rescued Denkidako from Walton's tyranny!"

"Well… yeah, you did, but you didn't need to do it by killing Walton like you did," Blessing said. "Pelame, I've been to jail twice, both times among Pokémon who'd done the same thing. I never thought you'd do such a thing, Pelame. This isn't anything like you. For crying out loud, she was begging you for mercy, and you _still_ killed her!"

"Whoa! That's a war crime!" Zaki exclaimed.

"Why are you acting like I did a bad thing?!" Pelame demanded of Blessing.

"Saving Denkidako's not a bad thing!" Blessing contested. "We're happy you did that! But the problem is the cold-blooded murder you committed! You already Purified her at that time! You could've just taken her as a prisoner!"

"Walton helped betray Pocketurn! She deserved what I did to her!"

"Pelame, are you for real right now?! You sound just like the serial killers I went to jail with! You're being completely unreasonable!"

"No I'm not! I appear to be the only one here with any reason left!"

"And now, you sound just like the king!"

Pelame was stunned beyond words at what Blessing just told her. All she could do was glare at her. Blessing noticed the look Pelame was giving her was terrifyingly similar to the death glare she gave to the king back in Swadfrieg. She never thought Pelame would ever be in such a dangerous state of mind, let alone direct a vengeful glare at a friend, a glare that was intensifying. All of a sudden, Pelame charged at Blessing, Tackling her to the ground.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK, YOU TRAITOROUS BROAD!" Pelame screamed in her friend's face as she clawed at it.

"Pelame, cut that out!" Neve ordered, coming up to her daughter to try to pry her off of Blessing. Pelame reflexively used Iron Tail and hit her mother across the face, sending her hurtling backwards into the wall. Mere seconds afterward, Pelame realized what she just did. She stopped grappling with Blessing and jumped off of her. She turned and saw her mother crying on the ground with a bleeding nose, and back at Blessing, who had scratch marks on her face. All who saw what Pelame just did were frightened of her. It sunk in as soon as she saw it all.

"What have I done?" Pelame asked of herself, appalled. Overwhelmed and shocked at herself, she ran out of Eroma's house.

"Pelame…" Neve lamented.

* * *

Pelame arrived back at her old house and went up to her room. She looked at herself in the mirror.

"What's the matter with you?!" she demanded of her own reflection. "How could you break your own mother's nose, you monster?!"

**"****Looks like you're really no different from a good amount of your foes, eh, Pelame?"**

Pelame perked up once she heard that most unpleasant of presences.

**"****It's a shame, really. If only you weren't an Alpha from Grani's line, you'd be the perfect Demon-type. Breaking your own mother's nose, clawing your good friend in the face, justifying murder; why, you're right to call yourself a monster!"**

"Just… SHUT UP, UNOD! I don't need you heckling me right now!"

**"****Oh, but it's not likely your friends will remain your friends after what you just did. Besides, why even trust others, huh? You trusted King Kangaskhan II, and what did he do? He used you to free me and trap me in that Request Stone of his! Complete betrayal of the trust you so kindly gave to him! And your father and ex-boyfriend remaining on the despot's side can't be overlooked, either! Face it, Pelame: your remaining 'friends' could betray you, too. Because that's what this world is full of: betrayal."**

"…you're wrong…"

**"****Am I? Hmph. You may think you trust them, but you lie to yourself. I know you're contemplating that all-too-real possibility of them turning on you. You're not fooling me. You're not even doing that good a job fooling ****_yourself_****."**

Pelame had no rebuttal to that.

**"****Embrace your mistrust. Believe in nobody, not even yourself. Because even ****_you_**** could betray you."**

Having had enough of this, Pelame shot a Swift attack into the mirror, breaking it. She then collapsed onto her bed in tears, crying into her pillow.

* * *

Neve, Blessing, Treasure, and Mori's family were still comprehending the meltdown they all bore witness to.

"Gosh…" Mori lamented. "She was never like that in TIGHS, even at her most stressed. She seemed really distraught."

"That's no excuse!" Blessing argued.

"I'm not saying it is. I'm just saying I understand why she's acting this way."

"She _was_ thoroughly betrayed by someone she trusted, as well as by her own father and boyfriend," Neve added. She started for the door. "Come along. Pelame could use some friends."

"Friends, you say?" Blessing replied curtly. "She's sure not treating us like friends. And frankly, I don't see why I should remain friends with her. Again, I know she's been through a lot, but she doesn't get to just treat us like junk because of it! It's not like _we_ betrayed her!"

"She's still my daughter. She needs me."

"Well, go if _you_ want, Neve. Pelame's lost my respect. I'm staying here."

"*sigh*… very well…" Neve left for her old house.

"Blessing, Neve has a point," Treasure interjected. "Pelame needs us—"

"Treasure, I'm not ready to try making up with her yet!"

"Okay… okay…"

* * *

Neve reached home, having quelled the bleeding of her nose on the way. She went upstairs to her daughter's bedroom and knocked on it.

"Pelame, dear?" she called inside.

No response.

"Are you doing okay?"

Still no answer.

"Well, I'll be here the rest of the night, and tomorrow. Whenever you want to talk, I'll listen." Neve went to her room and retired for the night.

* * *

Over in Tradja, Keldeo, Pinna, Pugno, and Benedict had located a mine near the Northern Mountain Range. They entered along with five lower-ranking troops.

"Remember, everyone," Keldeo said. "Those Orbs of Silence are colored black and made of glass. Be careful with them."

"You sure they're here, though?" Pugno asked.

"Well, our radar's picking something up. There's always the possibility that it's exactly what we're looking for. We'll test them once we find them. Understand?"

"Got it," responded all the available soldiers.

Keldeo then received a signal from his Twilit Sigil. He turned to his hips and answered.

"Yeah, what?! I'm busy!" he answered curtly.

"Sorry to disturb you, Captain," Dible said. "Or are you currently working as a Judge now?"

"At this moment: Captain. Now what is it?!"

"I wouldn't disturb you for something trivial. I'm contacting you because something awful has happened. You remember how Walton gained control of Denkidako?"

"Don't tell me she lost it…"

"Worse, sir. She lost control of Denkidako… because she was killed."

"Come again?!"

"The Raticate Raiders bore witness to it. A group of Pokémon led by Pelame rescued a traitor that was to be executed, and then Pelame chased Walton into the Powerhouse of the Denkidako Dam and pushed her off the roof. She died upon hitting the spillway. I'm sorry, sir."

"Thanks for letting me know, Dible. Walton will be avenged."

The signal stopped. Keldeo turned to the troops to deliver the bad news.

* * *

The next morning was Ninthmonth 9th, 1512. Neve got up early to prepare a special breakfast for everyone in the house. She was hoping Blessing and Treasure would come back, but they hadn't yet arrived. She went outside to get the mail, finding that everyone's new Zotoan Citizenship forms had arrived.

_"__Hmm… why is Pelame's missing?"_ she thought. But she didn't have time to focus on that, as she had a meal to make. In the next seven minutes, she was done. She went upstairs to wake her daughter. She entered the bedroom and gasped in shock. She went up to the bed and found a note on the pillow.

_To Mom,_

_I am very sorry I hit you last night. I shouldn't have taken my anger at the Twilight Kingdom out on you. I don't want to hurt you, my last remaining family member, anymore. That's why I'm going to Daoyin on my own. I've taken my Citizenship forms out of today's mail, so if you find it missing, that's why. We'll meet again one day. Best of luck to you._

_Love,  
Pelame_

_P.S.: Can you let Blessing know I apologize to her, too?_

"Pelame… why…?" Neve wondered out loud in a tone of distress. "Don't you know I'm not mad…?"

"Well, Neve, I don't know how you aren't…" Blessing said as she got upstairs. "…, but then again, she's your daughter."

"Blessing! There you are! And Treasure, too!"

"Eh, I got talked by Treasure into returning. That, and Mori's immediate family is rather persuasive. And they're also waiting downstairs."

"Oh?" Neve went downstairs to greet her guests. "Welcome! Sorry I got here so late!"

"It's no problem, Ms. Neve," Zeki responded. "How's your daughter doing?"

"She's gone. She left this note." She showed the note to everyone.

"Well, at least she's realized what she's done in her wrath," Zaki responded.

"Not really," Blessing said cynically. "She still thinks she was right to kill Walton. And for the record, I don't accept her apology." Her expression softened a little bit. "But I'm coming along anyway. I know you all want to follow her to Daoyin. Well, I'm not gonna be left here. Besides, once we catch up to Pelame, I can give her a piece of my mind!"

"So, I guess we've got a destination set," Treasure said. "Thing is, though, Pelame took her things with her. And the Eon Flute was part of her luggage, so we're taking the long way there."

"And we can take you there," Zaki offered. "After all, Daoyin's on the way to our house. We'll drop you off."

"Furthermore, after almost drowning yesterday, I'd be more comfortable flying out of a safer city," Mori added. "Speaking of which, I gotta call TIGHS and let them know why I'm late. They were expecting me back by this time. May I please use the phone?"

"Certainly," Neve permitted.

Mori made his call while everyone else got Zeki's van all packed up for the trip.

* * *

_"__Who can I even trust anymore…"_ Pelame mentally lamented as she boarded the train to Daoyin. The distance from Rogokosoka to Daoyin meant a train trip of roughly six hours. She showed her ticket to the conductor as she found a seat in the train's caboose. As she loved to do since her childhood, she picked the back left seat. As she sat down, the train pulled out of the station. She placed her backpack on the seat next to her.

"Ce siège est-il libre?" asked a sneasel who was walking by. Pelame noticed the passenger's brown fur and blue feathers, indicating that this was a Blooman sneasel, in addition to his speaking of the Old Blooman language. The long head feather meant the passenger was male.

"Excuse me?" Pelame asked.

"J'aimerai m'asseoir ici. Vous gardez ce siège pour quelqu'un?"

"Sorry, sir. I don't speak Old Blooman."

"Vous ne parlez pas le vieux Blooman, n'est-ce pas?"

"Do you speak Modern Pocketurn?"

"Qu'est-ce que vous voulez? Je veux juste m'asseoir."

Pelame sighed and shrugged. "Sorry, but I don't know what to do here."

"Oubliez, je vais trouver une autre place." The sneasel left the caboose to search for another place to sit.

_"__Did he want to sit next to me?"_ Pelame wondered. _"Because I don't want anyone near me right now."_

On the whole trip, Pelame gave a direct refusal to everyone who asked to sit in the seat next to her. She fell asleep about three hours into the trip. One hour after that, a young chespin with six points on his shell helmet (signaling that he was Doxivish) took the seat next to Pelame, moving her backpack over. His chesnaught mother took the seat across from Pelame. Thirty minutes later, Pelame awakened, feeling refreshed. Upon seeing the chespin child next to her, she accosted him.

"Where's my backpack, thief?!" she demanded of the scared child.

"I didn't steal it!" the child defended. "It's under the seat!"

"Then get it!"

"Here you go," said the child's chesnaught mother, giving her backpack back to her.

"Thanks," Pelame curtly replied. "But the seat next to me is taken. Teach your brat to respect personal space, will you?!"

"You've got nerve calling my son that!"

"Well, what was he doing near my things?!"

"You were asleep! How were we supposed to know you were saving that seat?!"

"I had my backpack next to me! It doesn't exactly take an alakazam to know that that usually means a seat's taken!"

"Oh. That's why you had your backpack next to you?"

"Exactly!"

"I see. Sorry to have troubled you."

"Well, you might as well just stay here. Looks like there's nowhere else to sit."

"I think we'll do that, then."

"But mom! I don't wanna sit next to the mean eevee!" complained the child.

"Then sit next to me." The child did so.

"Sorry… for thinking you stole my backpack," Pelame said to the chespin boy. She looked at his mother. "And sorry for arguing with you. I've just been really stressed lately."

"No offense, but I could tell," said the chesnaught mother. "Life's been quite stressful for us, too. We had to quickly escape from Swadfrieg when it got conquered."

"Pardon me?! But aren't you two Doxivish?"

"Only in physical ethnicity. I met my husband when I moved to Swadfrieg, and we've lived there ever since. But then, the Twilight King suddenly invaded and conquered the country. He got rid of everything Friegan and replaced it with Twilit stuff. He erased Swadfrieg and everything about it from the world."

"What happened to your husband?"

"He got caught by the Twilit Army. Only my son and I escaped."

"…I see…"

"We got on a plane that turned out to be heading here to Shizazoto, so now we're trying to find another airport that'll get us to Pumbloomberg in a timely manner. They're a very safe nation."

"Indeed, it is. Pumbloomberg's military is very strong. Even as strong as he currently is, King Kangaskhan II wouldn't dare take on Pumbloomberg as he is now."

"So, where are you headed?"

"Daoyin. I'm going to see Emperor Kentahito. I have an appointment with him."

"That's very neat! I hope it goes well."

Just then, the train's PA sounded. "OUR NEXT STOP WILL BE QINLONG STATION."

"That's us, Shelby," the chesnaught said to her son. "Let's go." She got up and carried her son with her. "Good luck with seeing the Emperor, young lady."

"Thanks," Pelame answered. "And I hope you make it to Pumbloomberg safely."

"Thanks, mean eevee lady!" Shelby said. "Actually, you turned out to be very nice! I hope I get to see you again, nice eevee!"

"I hope I get to see you again, too!" Pelame joyfully responded to Shelby. The train then stopped, and the two Pokémon left along with many others whose stop this was. Pelame remained on the train, as her destination was further down the line. According to the train's itinerary, Daoyin was only three more stops away. That meant the trip would be about one more hour.

"Raaah! Tout les bons sièges sont pris!" complained the sneasel from earlier. Pelame remembered him.

"Excusez-moi monsieur!" Pelame called out.

"Hum? Vous avez besoin de quelque chose?" responded the sneasel.

Not knowing much of the language being spoken to her, she removed her backpack from the seat next to herself. She pointed to it.

"Want this seat? You can have it," she said, hoping the sneasel would get the message. She nodded her head to help get her point across.

"Oh? Vous me laissez m'asseoir ici?"

Pelame nodded, hoping she was confirming a request.

"Merci beaucoup mademoiselle!" The sneasel happily took the seat next to Pelame. "Vous êtes vraiment généreuse. C'est vraiment dommage que nous ne puissions pas communiquer."

"I wish I knew more Old Blooman than I currently do," Pelame responded, attempting to make just a bit of conversation. "I'm Pelame." She extended her right paw to the sneasel passenger.

"Pelame?"

"Yes. That's my name."

"Ça je comprends. Vous vous appelez donc Pelame."

"Uh-huh." Pelame nodded.

"Je suis Henri. C'est mon nom."

"Henri?"

"Oui."

"Heureuse de te rencontrer Henri."

"Tout le plaisir est pour moi Pelame."

The two shook hands. About fifteen minutes later, the train came to its next stop. Henri got up to leave.

"C'est mon arrêt. Au revoir Pelame." said Henri as he left.

"Au revoir Henri. I hope we get to meet again," Pelame said. The two waved goodbye to one another. This encounter and the one before it significantly brightened Pelame's mood.

She disembarked in high spirits once the train reached Daoyin Union Station. Going into the station, her first stop was to go pick up a map of the city. Looking at it, she immediately noticed that it was a third of the size of the Ville back in the Twilight Kingdom, which would make it a lot less intimidating to navigate. According to it, Hito Palace (as the Emperor's residence was known) was 128 kilometers to the east of the station. Destination now set, Pelame left the station after buying and eating some dinner. She went to the bus terminal next door and boarded the one heading to the Palace District.

* * *

"So, Pelame, you're _that_ determined…" King Kangaskhan II noted. He'd received the news of Walton's death at Pelame's paws as well, even while currently in Ordoxivia. His next target was the Doxivish Capital City of Wixatow. Concentrating on that, he spoke into his Request Stone.

"Seti, status report," he ordered.

From the other end, the furfrou with the Pharaoh Trim replied. "Saint Vladenhagen has been conquered, sire," he proudly stated into the Twilit Sigil on his hip.

"Excellent work. Move on into neighboring territories until you reach Wixatow. Once you do, we'll all take it, and therefore gain Ordoxivia."

"As you wish, sire. I'll put Turnie in charge of this city. He'll see to getting the citizens Twilitized and to the destruction of the Sultan's Palace. By the way, isn't it odd that that building is still called that even though Wixatow's the capital?"

"Doxivish Pokémon wanted it to keep its name as a reminder of how Saint Vladenhagen was once the Doxivish Capital. Of course, there'll be no need for that sentiment soon."

"Indeed, sire. Over and out."

Over in Saint Vladenhagen, a poliwrath approached Seti. "Got a message from the king?" he asked.

"Yep," Seti replied. "I let him know we succeeded in conquering this sorry place. I'll be taking the troops under my command and setting a course toward Wixatow, conquering all provinces and cities we cross along the way. The king just gave me an order to do that."

"Neat. We're gonna get this whole country then, huh?"

"Yes, we are. So while I'm gone, you shall be the Governor of Saint Vladenhagen. Have all the citizens Twilitized and destroy the old Sultan's Palace. I'll leave you thirty of my troops. The remaining 330 will accompany me."

"Yes, sir. I'll take good care of this place. Good luck with your mission!"

Seti set off with his remaining troops to accomplish the mission given to him by the king.

"I'm on my way now, sire," he said into his Sigil. "Falbai will be next to fall."

The king received Seti's message. "Copy that," he responded. Next, the king decided to contact Keldeo.

* * *

"Yes, sire?" Keldeo answered.

"Status report, please," the king requested.

"Our mission succeeded. Pinna, Pugno, Benedict, and I just found a stash of Silence Orbs. We've mined every one of them we've found, and are on our way to our barracks in the Northern Mountains of Tradja. In spare time I have between conquering Tradjan provinces, I'll be studying these Orbs' properties."

"Very good, Keldeo. Where will you strike first?"

"We're close to Velland. We're going to strike there first. These Silence Orbs could come in handy."

"That they could. Be sure not to waste them, though."

"I won't sire. Besides, with a town as small as Velland, I doubt we're going to encounter much trouble. I'll let you know when it's ours. By the way, sire, what's to be done about Pelame? We _did_ lose an Elite Nine to her, after all."

"Unfortunately, we can't change our approach with her. I still don't have the ability to Disappear her. But do rest assured that she won't get away with her transgression against us. In fact, I will permit torture of her because of this."

"Excellent, sire. I'd love to see her suffer for her crimes."

"As would I, Keldeo."

"So, how's it going in Ordoxivia?"

"Swimmingly. We've claimed Saint Vladenhagen, and have set up a plan to take the rest of Ordoxivia. We should gain it within the next seven days."

"Very good. I think I'll do the same here. Galileo's over in Berhem. With him so far south in this country, and me so far north, we can meet at Nuhtedam and conquer it all at once!"

"That's an excellent idea, Keldeo. You may proceed with that plan."

"Thanks, sire. Over and out."

"Sir?" Pinna said, taking his chance to speak to his captain upon seeing his conversation with the king end. "Having a nice conversation with your butt there?"

"Ha ha ha," Keldeo replied in a sarcastic tone. "Eh, but it's good you kept your sense of humor. So, what is it?"

"You said we were conquering Velland, right?"

"Yep. We'll proceed once we store these Orbs away."

"Okay. I just hope we won't have to hurt anyone too badly."

"Well, that depends on how they respond to us. They surrender peacefully, no need to fight. They resist, we force them to comply. That's the way it's always been."

"But I haven't done that before."

"Neither have I," Pugno added.

"Me as well," Benedict added. "In fact, Pugno and I have never fought in a war."

"Well, I can't say it'll always be a pleasant experience," Keldeo replied. "We'll be put through some serious pain. And as we've lost Walton, we've already suffered quite a lot."

"I suppose so, sir," Pugno agreed. "I just can't believe Pelame had it in her…"

"Well, she'll pay for that."

"Yeah… but…"

"Don't dwell on her, Pugno. Just focus on our mission for now. Speaking of that, I should let Galileo know our plan for Tradja."

"Okay," Pinna answered. "We'll leave you and your buddy be for now, Sunbutt."

Pinna, Pugno, and Benedict left as Keldeo contacted the Elite Nine with the Star Trim.

* * *

It was now nighttime as the bus reached the Palace District of Daoyin. It dropped Pelame off at the last point it was allowed to go. From then on, Pelame had to make her way to Hito Palace on her own. At this point, she felt very lonely.

_"__Everyone… I'll see you again soon…"_ she thought to herself as she crossed the crosswalk leading to the main street of the district. Making her way through there brought her a block away from the Palace's front gate. When she approached, she was stopped by a girafarig. The guard inspected her, making sure to look under her neck fur. He nodded once he found it, and then got onto the gate's intercom.

"She's here, sire," the guard said.

"Good," responded the Pokémon on the other end. "Keep her there. I'll be out to greet her."

"As you wish."

It only took three minutes for Pelame to meet who the guard was talking to. It was a very tall mienshao wearing a green and gold robe and a black and red hat. There was no mistaking this Pokémon.

"Emperor Kentahito," Pelame said, bowing. "Your Majesty."

"Greetings, Pelame," Kentahito responded. "Rise, please. And follow me."

Pelame did so, all the way to his throne room in the northern of the five palatial buildings.

"It's been a while, Pelame," Kentahito said. "Last I saw of you, you were only a toddler. Now I see you've grown into a fine young woman."

Pelame couldn't help but blush at that compliment.

"Or rather, there was a time I _would_ be saying that. But from what I've heard of you lately, I must unfortunately rescind that compliment. Instead, I must say that you have grown into a very foolish young woman."

"I know, sire…," Pelame sadly agreed. "I shouldn't have let King Kangaskhan II trick me—"

"Please stay silent. You must hear the true reason I see you as foolish. It's not because of your former assistance to the Twilight King. I cannot blame you for that, as I can see myself being fooled by his cunning. Of course, what you _can_ be blamed for is the following: committing a cold-blooded murder in my nation's technological central city, lashing out at your friends and family just for trying to console you, and leaving them behind with nothing but a measly apology note. I hope you'll pardon my saying so, but those are not the actions I expected from a Pokémon with your exceptional abilities. You have acted very irresponsibly and dangerously."

The tears forming in Pelame's eyes came not just from the harsh words the Emperor was speaking to her, but from the realization that those harsh words were correct. She shut her eyes and hung her head in shame, ears drooping to the sides of her head.

"But I do recognize your talents and your desire to save Pocketurn from disaster. You are very foolish, but there's always a chance to turn that around. Take that chance, and your foolishness will become wisdom. If you permit it, I would like to help you with that. May I?"

Pelame wiped tears out of her eyes. "Yes!" she responded. "Yes, please, sire! Please help me!"

"Then I shall. You can begin turning your foolishness around by making up with your mother and friends." Kentahito pressed a button on his throne. "Send the other guests here to my throne room."

"Wait, are they here?"

"Yes. They got here an hour before you did. They told me everything."

"I see. Well, they're right, and so are you; I've acted way too harshly."

"Indeed. But again, there's always time to turn things around. Use your community service time toward that, why don't you?"

"Community service?"

"Yes. I can't just let you get away with murder, Pelame. Even though you did it on Twilit soil, as Denkidako was at the time you killed Walton, the biological side effects of her corpse remaining in the dam's river has slightly tainted the city's water supply, so all plumbing in the city had to be shut off to prevent illness. That side effect of your crime has directly affected Zotoan soil, so that gives me jurisdiction as the Emperor of Shizazoto to punish you for it. But I have taken your liberating of Denkidako into account and decided to sentence you to community service for one month."

"I see. And I fully accept this punishment."

"That's a start. You're already well on your way to improving yourself. Your community service will begin tomorrow with you helping repair any damage you've done in your murderous rampage. The water's been cleaned already, but there's still work to do." There was then a knock on the door. "And now, here's your next step." He looked over to the door. "Enter, please!"

In came Neve, Blessing, and Treasure. Blessing angrily marched up to Pelame.

"So, what was the big idea ditching us back in Rogokosoka, huh?!" Blessing demanded as soon as she got face-to-face with Pelame.

"Ah… heh, heh, heh…" Pelame blushed. Suddenly, she got slapped in the face. "Hey! What was _that_ for?!"

"What do _you_ think?"

After merely a second of pondering what had happened the last time they were together, Pelame concluded that she deserved that slap in the face.

"Gosh… I've been such a jerk to all of you. It's the Twilit Army I'm mad at; I shouldn't catch innocent bystanders in the crossfire." Pelame turned to her mother. "I know I left you a note, but I'd feel better saying it to your face. I'm very sorry for hitting you." She then turned to Blessing, who was still scowling. "And I'm sorry for attacking you, Blessing. I deserved that slap from you."

"Oh, totally. And your apology is _not_ accepted. If you want me to accept it, you're gonna have to earn it. I'll give you a chance to, and if you mess it up, we are _through_."

"Blessing, I promise I won't mess my chance up."

"I know you won't Pelame," Neve added. "I believe in you. But I want to make a request of you. I know you're angry at the Twilit Army. You have every right to be. But please don't kill any more of them, will you?"

"Mom…"

"And I know you no longer view Pinna as your father, but I still view him as my husband. I'd like to give him a chance, too."

"Then… we can at least take prisoners, right?"

"Yes, but don't go any farther than that, dear. Okay?"

"Okay, mom. And once again, I'm sorry for attacking you."

"Pelame, you're forgiven for that. Let's just forget that ever happened, okay?"

"Okay."

"Eh, I guess I can try to forget being attacked, too," Blessing begrudgingly said. "But I'm still not forgiving you yet. Remember, Pelame, you're on thin ice with me. Which means you don't upset Treasure, either. Got it?!"

"Okay."

"Blessing, simmer down," Treasure scolded.

"By the way, where's Mori?"

"Oh, he's with his family in the Southern Palace," Neve answered. "They decided to stay with us on account of Mori being wanted by the Twilight Kingdom."

"I see. I think they'll be safe here."

"Oh, and Pelame?" Kentahito interjected. "While you are here, the entirety of the palace is open to you. All except for the Jade Pool. That is the only forbidden area in this palace. Only I can go there. And I will know if you disobey this order. Your Custody will alert me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sire."

* * *

"Well, that was child's play," Keldeo gloated as he held up the paper with Mayor Kiefer's signature on it. "Velland is ours now. And all it took was getting that spineless granbull's handwriting."

"So, it was completely unnecessary for us to hold his family hostage?" Pinna asked.

"Not at all, Pinna. We needed leverage in case he refused. Besides, why even ask me such a thing?"

"Nothing, sir."

"In any case, I'll be leaving Steelon in charge of this town." Keldeo turned to the skarmory next to him. "Hear that? You're the new Mayor here."

"Yipee! Thanks, Captain!" Steelon cried. "I'll take good care of this place!"

"I know you will. Now then, I, along with Pinna, Pugno, Benedict, and 200 of the troops here, are going onto other Tradjan regions. I'm station the remaining 180 troops here."

"180?" Pugno asked. "For such a small town, isn't that a bit much?"

"Certainly not, Pugno. If you ask me, there can never truly be enough troops for anything. Now, off we go!"

As the troops followed Keldeo out of Velland, Pinna, Pugno, and Benedict sadly looked back at it.


	38. Debt to Zotoan Society

Chapter 38 – Debt to Zotoan Society

* * *

Mori floated on his back on the surface of the water in the Southern Palace's pool. He felt very relaxed.

"You sure seem to be enjoying yourself," Blessing said as she walked over to the pool.

"Oh, certainly," Mori answered. "Though I'm a Grass-type, I take to water like a golduck. I've always loved swimming. Always has been my favorite form of exercise. Plus, it's summer here in Shizazoto. Granted, only for about a month or less, but still. Plus, I needed something to do while Pelame's working over in Denkidako."

"I guess so."

"Want to come in? The water's fine."

"No thanks. I'm not a big fan of swimming."

"Aww… why not? It's lots of fun! It's really relaxing, and when you're underwater… *sigh* it's a great experience. Well, as long as you're not bound to something heavy, that is." Mori took a deep breath and dove under the water. He swam straight down to the pool's deepest end. When he reached it, he turned himself so that he stood on the floor of the deep end. He looked up and waved to Blessing. He then pushed off from the floor and returned to the surface, gasping for air. "See?"

"All I see is really strange comfort with being in the element that nearly killed you two days ago. Really, Mori, how can you be so okay with doing that?"

"Yeah… when Walton took me to Denkidako Dam, I'll admit that I was scared while I was trapped underwater. I did think I was going to drown. But frankly, that won't scare me away from water permanently. And really, what are the odds of such a thing happening to me again?"

"Apparently enough for your dad to be monitoring you right now." Blessing had taken notice of Takezaki watching from the side of the pool, but didn't feel like mentioning it before now.

"Dads worry for their sons, you know," Zaki defended. "And considering I almost lost mine, I'm more scared than ever. Being wanted by an entire country…"

"Dad, I appreciate your concern," Mori said. "But I'll be fine."

"I sure hope so, my boy. I sure hope so. But for now, I think it'd be best you just stayed within the palace limits. Okay?"

"Yes, dad…"

"Besides, that lady Pelame can take care of herself."

"She sure can," Blessing added. "Though, honestly, it's kind of refreshing being away from her for a while. I'm really tired of her right now."

"I thought you were giving her a chance to earn your forgiveness," Mori said, concerned.

"I am. But that doesn't mean I'm not mad at her anymore. She really needs to improve her rotten attitude. I hope she's learning something out there. But enough about her; I'm still mystified about how you're not afraid of water."

"Honestly, Blessing, there's nothing much to fear about water. And really, there's not much I'm afraid of."

* * *

Promptly at 12:00PM, Pelame arrived at Denkidako Dam. Governor Enjinkumo was waiting in the communication room, where most of the damage had been done.

"The Emperor told me you'd be arriving," the Governor said. "First off, you have my thanks for saving my city and my county."

"You're welcome," Pelame responded modestly.

"I'd be prouder of you were it not for the damage here and to the river. We've taken care of the river already, so the city's water is drinkable again. What you'll be doing is helping our engineers fix this phone panel."

"Fix it? But I don't know anything about fixing that stuff!"

"I know you don't. You'll be delivering supplies and tools whenever asked by the crew."

"Okay… That sounds doable."

"Then I'll leave you to it."

"What the—! I don't wanna work with a glinter!" complained one of the worker electabuzz.

"Hey, whoa! Watch it, Denkeshi!" the governor angrily responded. "I'll have you know that I have a very good Twilit friend who's a better technician than you! So I take offense to that slur you uttered!" He turned to Pelame. "Very sorry you had to hear that, Pelame."

"It's fine, Mister Governor…" Pelame responded sadly, doing an unimpressive job of hiding her offended feelings.

"You know, come to think of it, I first saw you back at Llyria Academy's Orientation Camp when Henry and I showed off Twang. How's my old pal doing?"

"Last time I saw him, he adopted a son and married said adopted son's mother. As of now, I don't know, but I sure hope he's not getting accosted by the Twilit Military."

* * *

_"__I've waited all summer for this day!"_ Weston excitedly thought as he entered his Combat Class. The new Autumn Semester had begun at Llyria Academy, to the glee of all the students. _"Professor Aramir, I've been practicing just for you!"_ He entered the classroom twenty minutes before class started.

"Wow, you certainly are a prompt pupil."

Weston was surprised to see the furfrou with the Diamond Trim in the classroom. He recognized this furfrou as Value of the Elite Nine. He also noticed that Professor Aramir wasn't there.

"Uh… hello, Miss Value," Weston greeted, confused. "What brings you here?"

"Just remaining here on the homeland with a fair amount of troops. You remember Pugno, correct?"

"I do."

"He graduated from here, as you know. And as he advanced to become one of the best soldiers in the Twilit Military, I feel that perhaps the upper-class Combat Majors have that same potential."

"You do?"

"Most definitely. May you please demonstrate your techniques for me?"

"Sure!"

Weston got into his combat stance, crouching until he could touch his hands to the ground. He stood on all fours and raised his flame high. He then rubbed his feet on the ground to build up friction. He did the same with his hands. After ten seconds of this, his hands and feet caught fire. He then sat down with his hands and feet ablaze, and spun around on his fiery rear, using his Flamethrower to boost his spinning. As he spun around, he spread out his hands and feet to create a circular barrier of fire. He stopped spinning and grabbed the fire rings, rolling them both along the ground. They dissipated once they hit the wall.

"How do you like it?" Weston asked boastfully.

"Very impressive!" Value complimented. "It was so good, I've come to a decision. Follow me, please." Value escorted Weston out of the classroom. In the hall, they bumped into Aramir.

"Would it be okay if I borrowed this one for a moment?" she asked of the Combat Department Head. "Official Twilight Kingdom business."

"Pardon?" Aramir responded. "I wasn't notified of any 'Official Twilight Kingdom business.' What's going on here?"

"Your student here demonstrated a most impressive improvised technique for me. I think he has potential in our ranks."

"Your ranks? You're drafting him?"

"No. I'm offering him a chance to join the Twilit Army."

"You are?" Weston asked.

"I certainly am. Would you like to?"

"Well, that depends. What would you have me do? Because if it's to help the King turn the world into his strange idea of a utopia, I don't want any part of that."

"Pardon me." Value was clearly offended. "What exactly do you mean to imply by those words?"

"The thing is, Miss Value, I think the King has noble intentions. I agree with him that the world is going mad. But the last thing it needs right now is for him to rule over it all. He won't be seen as a hero for doing that; he'll be seen as the villain. That's just what happens to Pokémon with despotic means. And I just don't want to be part of that."

"…I see how it is. Well, good day to you." Value left the campus in a huff.

"Well said, Weston!" Aramir complimented.

"Thanks, Professor," Weston responded. "I'd love to have been part of the Twilit Military, but not if I have to help conquer the world."

"Yeah, I think the King's actions lately have killed an entire generation's interest in joining. If you ask me, anyone joining our military is a traitor to the whole world."

"I agree. I completely 100% agree. So, should we start class?"

"Yes. But let me just make a phone call first."

* * *

"Well, that was easy," Keldeo gloated as yet another Tradjan territory fell to him. "And once again, I didn't even have to attack. One look at me and *poof*, he's gone and Fenkrieg is ours!"

"So, where are we striking next?" Pinna asked. "Pugno and Benedict did some scouting ahead and saw that everywhere nearby has been preparing for our arrival."

"Ah, so they think they can beat us, then. Perfect. I've been itching for a fight, frankly. Haven't you, Pinna?"

"I guess so. Can't really say I missed fighting."

"It'll click once we get on the battlefield. Just be ready for anything. I know you won't let me down."

"Yes, Captain."

* * *

The first day of the Autumn Semester at Llyria Academy had ended. Professor Snapper locked her office up and left for her house in the nearby residential area. On the way there, she couldn't help but feel perturbed by what had happened in her colleague Aramir's class. Like him, she didn't believe that Value would take Weston's "no" for an answer. As soon as she entered her house, her caution ended up being vindicated. Two pairs of PP-Zero Bracelets were slapped onto all four of her legs. The chains connecting the four bracelets were pulled tight, bringing her legs close together, making her lose her balance and fall on her side. A Lum Scarf was tied tightly over her mouth. Two foam pads were stuck onto her horns.

"Greetings, Professor," Value said, entering the house's foyer. "I have some business with you." She made eye contact with the four sawk that had the Combat Co-Head restrained. "Lead her after me," she ordered. The four soldiers obeyed, slightly loosening the chains to allow the captive virizion to walk with them to a small building on the campus outskirts. This building hadn't been there before now, as Snapper mentally noted. "I'll take her from here," Value said, dismissing her soldiers. She got behind Snapper and shoved her inside and continued to do so until they reached a small room. This room was dimly lit and had a single podium on the opposite side. The podium was tall and allowed Value to look down at Snapper. The floor was glass, and below was a tank of water that appeared to be 40 meters deep. Value placed heavy iron shoes on her feet. After that, she took her spot on the podium and spoke.

"Welcome to the new Llyria County Courthouse, currently in progress. The existing courthouse will not be conducive to this particular trial. And yes, Snapper, you _are_ on trial here. Aramir is the one I ought to be trying right now, but try as I might, I couldn't track that cunning coward down. So, by you being a Department Head here at this Academy, that puts you in a spot of being guilty by association. So, by that extension, you are being tried for the crime of treason. How do you plea?"

No response. Not even a muffled grunt left Snapper's covered mouth.

"I said '_how do you plea_'?"

Still silence.

"If you're staying silent because you have that scarf over your mouth, I hope you're not thinking I'll remove it. You can still speak through it. So do so!"

Snapper remained silent.

"Then I'll just assume you're pleading 'guilty', which is exactly what you are, anyway. Aiding and abetting a student's blatant refusal _to my face_ to join the Twilit Military is High Treason, punishable by death. So, you will suffer the penalty. And rest assured, Llyria Academy's faculty and students will follow you to your watery grave in due time."

Value pressed a button located on the underside of the podium's table. A trapdoor opened underneath Snapper, dropping her into the watery tank below her. The heavy iron shoes sank her to the bottom, where she would certainly die within two or so minutes. Value watched gleefully as this happened. She'd have been happier to see the prisoner at least attempt to struggle for her life, but what she was currently seeing was satisfying her enough. After three minutes, she began to get suspicious upon seeing that although Snapper had lost consciousness, her face wasn't turning blue. Suddenly, Snapper's eyes shot open. This prompted Value to go down into the tank after her and finish her off herself. She took a deep breath and jumped into the trapdoor. As soon as she made contact with the water, she feel straight down to the bottom and handed hard on her feet, hurting her greatly. As she struggled to stand, she noticed she could breathe perfectly, as could Snapper.

"What's going on here?!" she demanded.

"Gotcha!" gloated Aramir, who suddenly materialized out of nowhere. His eyes glowed, and the water disappeared, revealing an empty tank. "Shouldn't have messed with a master of illusions! Don't _you_ feel dumb now, huh?"

"Why you—"

Aramir quickly removed the Lum Scarf from Snapper's mouth and tied it over Value's. He then undid the rest of Snapper's bindings and placed them on the Elite Nine member before him. Value's Dark Blessing Power wasn't suppressed, but Aramir knew it would be a while before she'd break free.

"I think this is our cue," Aramir said to Snapper. He grabbed a nearby rope and climbed up it, pulling Snapper up behind him.

"You're a genius, Aramir, lowering me down there to make it look like I was sinking," Snapper complimented.

"Heh, if only I could've thought this plan up. We gotta get going." Aramir untied the rope from around Snapper's body and them climbed onto her back as she ran out of the building.

"Uh, Aramir? Do _not_ do that, please," Snapper scolded after Aramir slapped her rear in an attempt to get her to run faster. "Keep your hands to yourself."

"Couldn't help it. Sorry."

The two were soon out of the building and on the campus quad along with the other Department Heads. Torden and Pauline were with Henry. Next to Professor Adorbs were the Eon Duo.

"As requested by Adorbs's daughter," Latias announced. "We're taking you all to Pumbloomberg. You'll all be safe from the Twilight Kingdom there."

"And don't worry about the students and the rest of the staff," Adorbs added. "They're already on a plane headed there."

"Everyone on?" Latios asked.

"Yep," answered everyone.

"All right! Off to Pumbloomberg with us!"

The Eon Duo took off with their passengers toward the Nation of Humility.

* * *

"So, how's community service going?" Mori asked Pelame as the two shared dinner with one another in the room Mori was staying in. Zaki was there supervising.

"Not easy," Pelame answered. "It's been a rough time. I've basically lost track of time."

"It's the 17th of Ninthmonth."

"Yeah. Anyway, nothing but odd jobs, repairs, cleanups, and stuff like that. So tiring, especially with angry civilians and workers shouting racial slurs at me."

"On behalf of the nation I call home, I apologize."

"It's okay, Mori. You don't need to apologize for anything. Besides, the Twilight Kingdom has been justifying angry feelings toward them lately."

"Yeah. To think that I, along with the rest of the TIGHS members cheered you and the King on while he was wearing a purrloin on his head. Pelame, can you ever forgive me for that?"

"Of course I can. None of us knew what the Twilight King was up to."

"You may not want to hear this, but on the news today—"

"The King reached Wixatow, Ordoxivia," Pelame and Mori finished in unison.

"Yeah, a few of the Pokémon I was working with today had the radio on, and Wattkins was reporting on that," Pelame continued. "I can't believe it. Not to mention all those Doxivish territories he claimed along the way."

"I hate to sound grim, but Ordoxivia might not last much longer. And Tradja might be on a similarly hopeless path."

"I wish I could do something about this. I feel so helpless!"

"Pelame, my dear, you're not helpless," Neve said, entering the room. "I know you can fix this somehow."

"How, exactly?" Zaki asked. "You know how powerful the Twilight King is?"

"Mister Zaki, that doesn't matter. Do you have any idea how powerful my daughter is? I'll have you know she's the one who defeated Team Static."

"Not to mention the numerous Demon-types she stood up to while she worked at TIGHS with me," Mori added. "You should see her in action, dad. She's frighteningly powerful. She could catch up to the Twilight King easily."

"I guess so…" Zaki conceded. "Still, Mori, if you're ever traveling with her, please be careful. No offense, Pelame, but danger tends to follow you like a magnemite follows an overcharged pikachu. At least from what I've heard. So please don't let my son get caught in the crossfire, okay?"

"I won't, Mister Zaki," Pelame said to the concerned nuzleaf.

"Can you promise me that?"

"On my life."

Suddenly, Emperor Kentahito's voice could be heard over the Palace's intercom, as well as the nation's radios, TVs, and the Internet.

"Attention, Citizens of Shizazoto. Ordoxivia has fallen to the Twilight King. As Rajukh is a fellow World Leader, it pleases me to notify all of you that he has escaped safely, as has the population of Wixatow. The city was actually empty when the Twilit Army reached it. Sultan Rajukh likely knew the fight would be lost if he had been in one. Unfortunately, though the Sultan escaped and saved his Capital City's population, his country has fallen and become Twilight Kingdom territory. Where the King will strike next, I do not know. Reports from Tradja say that a share of his forces led by Captain Keldeo are there and advancing fast. As for here in Shizazoto, Twilit soldiers could invade at any time. Please be vigilant in case of such a possibility."

The Emperor's speech ended, and the broadcast was switched off. Pelame's expression fell and she sulked to her room in the Western Palace. She climbed onto her bed and stared at nothing in particular. She let out a long and depressed sigh.

_"__Pocketurn…"_ She sniffled as she fought back a tear. _"I'm sorry…"_

Pelame pulled the covers over herself and went to sleep.

* * *

"That's excellent news, sire!" Keldeo responded enthusiastically on the phone. "Wow, you sure got Ordoxivia quickly!"

"Yes, it was hardly any trouble," responded King Kangaskhan II. "Now, half of Pocketurn belongs to me. How are things going in Tradja? Are they obeying?"

"Well, we need reinforcements. I'm very ashamed to admit that. But Allogne's local army united with nearby forces and beat us back. And I for one would like to avenge my defeat!"

"And you will, Keldeo. I am on my way to Tradja right now. What is your exact location? You mentioned Allogne, but are you still there?"

"The southern outskirts near its border. You'll find me there."

"Then that's where I'll be landing, along with a share of the forces that helped me take Ordoxivia. Seti is the Governor of Wixatow, so he will remain there."

"Excellent. He'll take good care of it."

"That he will. Until I arrive with reinforcements, remain in those outskirts. We'll take Allogne and the rest of Tradja together."

"Understood, sire. That'll give me time to replicate the Silence Orb's power. See you when you get here, sire."

"See you soon."

Both Pokémon hung their phones up. Keldeo went to the lab where an electivire was closely inspecting a Silence Orb alongside his gardevoir assistant.

"Found out anything about those Orbs?" Keldeo asked of the two scientists.

"Well, all I know is that removing a victim's mouth only silences them," the electivire answered.

"I knew that already! We're not looking to amplify its effects! We're just trying to determine how it works!"

"I know, sir…"

"Have you discovered anything to _that_ effect?"

"Not really. I just touch it to a victim's lips, and their mouth disappears. From what Eurekon and I observed, that's basically all there is to it."

"Then demonstrate it in front of me. Maybe _I'll_ see something _you're_ missing."

"On who, though?"

"Just a moment. I'll bring a P.O.W. in." Keldeo briefly left, re-entering minutes later with two golbat with their wings bound and their feet tied together. "This one will make a fine subject. Next to the gulpin and swalot species, this species has the biggest mouth of all Pokémon. We'll see the whole process for sure. Silence this one, and watch the process closely, Amongele."

"Yes, sir," Amongele answered in slight fear. He grabbed the orb. Keldeo spread the golbat's wings apart in order to expose his mouth. He had the struggling golbat pinned to the ground by his wings. Amongele lowered the Silence Orb down to the screaming golbat's mouth, touching it to his upper lip. Keldeo and the two scientists watched closely as the golbat's mouth got absorbed into the Silence Orb. The golbat's face now only had eyes.

"Just a moment…" Keldeo said, pondering something. He took another of the Silence Orbs from the lab's table and touched it to his own lips, taking away his own mouth. He then immediately smashed the Orb on the floor, restoring his mouth. "Is that all there is to it?" He then went over to the other golbat and got his Demon Power ready. He focused it to his horn and touched it to the golbat's lower lip. He looked up at the golbat as he did this, and noticed that its mouth got absorbed into his horn.

"Sir! You did it!" Amongele cheered. "How'd you do it, though?"

"I guess I shouldn't have had a scientist do a sorcerer's job. Amongele, this was out of your hands from the beginning, so apologies for the time you wasted on this. How about you help me build a new execution weapon? Now that we've gotten a new torture technique developed, we can move on to the step after torturing."

"Sure, sir. What do you have in mind?"

"Well, you know I love our current preferred method of execution. Drowning someone…there's just about no more satisfyingly grisly way to put an end to a Pokémon's life. One of the traitors we're after is aquaphobic. Of course, we have to consider what happened at Denkidako Dam. A traitor was rescued while he was being drowned. And, of course, Walton was murdered by public enemy number 1 afterwards. So, I've been thinking of a way to kill especially dangerous traitors quickly, but still drop them into water. As I'm sure an Electric-type like you knows, water conducts electricity. So…"

"You want me to electrocute the water in the Execution Pool with a toaster?"

"Good idea, but no. We'll build a special line of Execution Pools that are lined with electric panels. That'll make it easier."

"Ooooohhhh! That's rather devious!"

"Not devious. The word you're searching for is 'efficient'."


	39. Alpha Sparring

**Once again, a big thanks to Naguro for the French dialogue!**

* * *

Chapter 39 – Alpha Sparring

* * *

On the vast front lawn of a gigantic four-story mansion in Chestebury, Pumbloomberg, a housing development was underway. Heading it was Henri and his charmander sister.

"Pourquoi le propriétaire prétend s'appeler 'Flygon' alors qu'il est clairement un Drattak, et non un Libégon?" he asked.

"Qui sait?" his sister answered. "Je connais sa langue, je peux lui demander si tu veux. Quand même, j'arrive toujours pas à croire que tu ai oublié tout les mots de Pocketurn moderne que tu connaissais."

"J'essaie de m'en souvenir, Marie."

"Bah, prêt à faire emménager ces Pokémon de l'Académie Llyria de toute façon?"

"Ouais, espérons juste que le propriétaire ne vas pas se coincer dans la porte en les accueillant comme il l'a fait avec les deux autres maisons."

Henri looked over to the two houses on the other side of the lawn. They both had chunks broken off of the sides of their front door frames. He shook his head in frustration. "Tellement négligent... D'ailleurs, la cuisine de sa femme n'est pas assez bonne pour lui?"

* * *

It was now the morning of Ninthmonth 18th, in Zotoan time. Pelame was in her room moping. Between the hard work she'd been put to and having to suffer the wrath of many an angry Zotoan civilian, it didn't help matters hearing that Ordoxivia fell to an enemy she basically helped create.

_"__When will enough be enough for him?!"_ she mentally demanded. There was then a knock at her door.

"Not now," Pelame answered, voice cracking. "Just leave me alone."

The door opened, and in walked the Emperor.

"This is my palace, Pelame," Kentahito replied sternly. "I'm allowed anywhere in it. Besides, you need help. I can tell." Kentahito shut the door behind himself. He sat with Pelame on her bed. "I know why you're upset. It's because of Ordoxivia's fall, right?"

Pelame nodded sadly, unable to look her Emperor in the eye.

"You aren't the only one saddened by that awful news. Sultan Rajukh is a dear friend of mine. Hearing that he lost his country to a despotic king struck a serious blow to my heart, too. But we need to stay vigilant. By moping around, nothing productive will get done. Something can be done about this."

"I know, sire… But what _can_ I do?"

"Well, that depends on your abilities. Pelame, we shall focus on Alpha training today. Would you like to?"

"Sure."

"Then follow me. I've got a sparring area in the palace." Kentahito got up and left the room with Pelame following.

"Hey, Pelame," Blessing called. "Come here a moment."

"Go on ahead. I'll wait," Kentahito encouraged. Pelame nodded and met with her acquaintance.

"What is it, Blessing?" Pelame asked.

"I'm late saying this, but thanks for letting me use your Eon Flute," Blessing said.

"Oh, no problem! I'm glad your mom and the Llyria staff and students are safe. So, how's your mom doing?"

"She's doing great. She and the others moved into a housing development in Pumbloomberg built by an Old Blooman-speaking sneasel."

"Oh, Henri builds houses?"

"I guess so. Anyway, Pelame, thanks again. You going training?"

"Yep."

"Well, good luck."

"Thanks." Pelame got up to leave.

"Oh, Pelame?"

"Yeah?"

"Um… well…" Blessing stammered, not knowing what to say next. "Umm…"

"Something wrong?"

"No. It's… I'll tell you later. Just go train, okay?"

"Okay." Pelame left Blessing's room and followed the Emperor.

"Why didn't you tell her?" Treasure reprimanded.

"Tell her what? What do you mean?" Blessing asked.

"Oh, you're hiding _nothing_ from me, darling."

"Wh— ah… hmmph…" Blessing turned her back to her girlfriend in shame. "I'm not ready to let her know yet…"

"Well, I hope you'll be ready soon. The sooner you let her know, the better. This is something you'd best get off your chest sooner than later."

"I know, Treasure, I know… but… how do I tell her…?"

"It isn't hard to do, Blessing. And believe me, when you do, you'll be glad you did."

"I guess so…"

* * *

The Sparring Area was in the basement of the Southern Palace, which was where Kentahito led Pelame to. It was a stadium-sized room fit for a tournament. The ceiling was very high up. Kentahito shut the door behind him.

"First off, show me your power," the Emperor ordered. "Don't hold back."

"But, sire…" Pelame objected.

"Do not disobey a direct order from your Emperor."

"Sire, I killed someone with my power! You should know that! You're punishing me for it!"

"That, I am, though for _your_ own good. Now, show me that power of yours. Trust me when I say I can handle it."

"You really sure?"

"As the Emperor of Shizazoto, I give you my word. And also my order: have at me!"

"*sigh* All right…"

Pelame got her Alpha Power ready and charged it as much as she could make it go. A big ball of Alpha energy appeared over her head.

_"__Arceus, please don't let me accidentally kill the Emperor,"_ Pelame mentally prayed. She tossed it at the regal mienshao on the other side of the room. It loudly exploded on contact, shaking the entire city of Daoyin. When the dust cleared, Pelame was immensely relieved to see the Emperor was alive. Surprisingly, he was no worse for wear.

"Sire…how…?" she asked, feeling a mixture of astonishment and awe. Just then, she fainted out of exhaustion, waking up half an hour later. "How…?" was the first thing she asked upon awakening.

"Can you stand?" Kentahito asked.

"I think so…" Pelame struggled to her feet. "Yeah, I'm fine. So, how'd you block that attack? I could've killed the entire Twilit Army with it!"

"No, you couldn't have. You held back."

"Of course I did! I wanted to follow your order, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it!"

"Ah. Well, that gives me a theory, then."

"A theory? What about?"

"Never mind that for now."

"All right then. But how did you take my attack? Even if it wasn't as strong as the one I used against the Twilit Army, it still should've damaged you."

"Well, toss me another attack and find out."

"You sure—"

"That's an order, Pelame. But don't use that previous one. I'd like you to remain conscious."

"All right…"

Pelame pointed her tail at the Emperor and shot a bolt of lightning at him. Somehow, he was unscathed.

"Toss me another."

Pelame tossed a smaller ball of Alpha energy at the Emperor, yielding similar results. Next, she tried a few of her normal moves, beginning with Swift. A Shadow Ball followed. And finally, she tried a Quick Attack. All of them failed. However, she noticed that an Alpha Barrier was up when she tried her Quick Attack, though one wasn't there before. And upon looking again, it was gone. She backed off from her opponent.

"I get it now. You're creating an Alpha Barrier right when my attacks are about to hit you."

"Precisely. Timing always was a strong suit of mine, as is defense. Although I really don't like to boast about it. Please forgive my absence of humility."

"It's fine, sire. No need to be sorry."

"At any rate though, I can tell exactly what I must teach you. If I'm not mistaken, the Twilight King was your last teacher, right?"

"Right. And you have no idea how much I wish that wasn't the case."

"I understand your fury and share it. I'm not going to tell you this to temper your anger at him, but instead because it will help you to know: he deliberately mis-instructed you."

"I had a feeling that was the case."

"And you'd be right to that suspicion. All he was doing was training you to be more powerful, as that was what he needed to do in accordance to his insidious agenda. He got you to become more powerful, but taught you nothing else. And I'm sure you know that there's more to combat than the physical strength or power magnitude of the combatants."

"I've been aware of that for a long time, sire."

"That's good. Now, I'll give you an example of how an Alpha can make the best use of the power of the Alpha Bloodline."

The Emperor went over to the wall and hung his hat and robe on a hitch. As his back was to Pelame, she could see that his Alpha Sigil was located there, specifically on the area between his shoulder blades. Before she could admire the intricacies of the design she noticed in its center, the Emperor quickly turned around and fired a bolt of Alpha Lightning from his hands. It took half of a split-second for it to reach Pelame, who only barely managed to block it. She yelped as she did so. Kentahito's hands glowed gold as he touched them together, pointing his index fingers at himself. He pointed at his head and then traced an imaginary line all the way down to his feet. When he finished doing that, an Alpha Barrier was coating him like clothing. He then rushed at Pelame and did a Low Sweep attack. Pelame noticed that his right foot glowed gold as he performed his move. She wasn't able to block it in time.

"Don't miss a chance to guard!" he reprimanded. "It's generally better to defend than to attack!"

"Is that why you're wearing an Alpha Barrier… robe… thing?" Pelame asked.

"So you noticed. You could stand to learn it yourself. I could teach you. But after we're done here." Kentahito followed up with an ordinary punch coated with the same golden light as what coated his foot earlier. Pelame was able to block this one. Despite that, the Barrier got pushed into her face, hitting her. "Stabilize your defenses! Enemies can move them!"

Pelame took a chance to attack the Emperor with a Swift attack. At last, she got in a hit.

"Well done! Quick strikes at pivotal moments! Take that chance whenever you can! Break time!"

Pelame and Kentahito stopped sparring on his order. He then went over to an intercom on the wall. "Please prepare lunch for the Emperor and a guest and bring it to the Southern Palace's Sparring Room."

"Yes, sire," responded the Pokémon he spoke to.

"Have a seat, Pelame." Kentahito went over to a nearby closet and got out two cushions and a small table with a tablecloth underneath its wooden tabletop.

"It's warm…" Pelame noted. "Hey… this is the royal kotatsu! Right?"

"Not the royal one, but it _is_ a kotatsu. It's still the warmer part of Autumn, so I'll leave the kotatsu's heater off."

Just then, a carracosta came in with two bowls of Oran Noodle Soup.

"Thank you very much, Gohanda," Kentahito said to his cook.

"No problem, sire," Gohanda responded, bowing as he left.

"Lunch is served." Kentahito put his right fist to his open palm and bowed. Pelame bowed, being physically unable to mimic the Emperor's courteous gesture.

"Thank you for the meal!" Pelame and the Emperor said before they ate. They repeated those very words after finishing.

"Now then, Pelame, before we continue, what have you learned?" Kentahito asked.

"Well… nothing, really," Pelame answered, making no effort to hide her shame. Her head was hung low.

"Of course not, Pelame. Maybe I asked the wrong question. Did you _see_ anything new?"

"Actually, yes." Pelame's spirits were raised ever so slightly. "I mean, I already noticed your perfect timing with your Alpha Barriers. But I did see you make a new Alpha Barrier that looked like a new robe—is that why you stripped?"

"Heh… a part of me was wondering if you were going to ask about my nakedness. To answer your question, no. I generally fight better with my clothing off. Nothing to trip over."

"I see."

"Would you like me to put my robe back on?"

"No, it's okay. I'm used to being around naked Pokémon, mostly thanks to Blessing. She tries as hard as she can to make sure the whole world can see her big butt."

"Ah. That's very conceited of her. And vulgar. Anyway, let's get back to our original subject. I'd rather we keep the delicious lunch we just ate _inside_ our stomachs."

Pelame couldn't help but giggle at that comment. To the Emperor's own surprise, he slightly chuckled at his own quip.

"Anyway, sire, I also noticed that depending on what part of your body you'd attack me with, you focused your Alpha Power there."

"Yes! Yes, I was hoping you'd notice that! I developed that technique myself, actually. It's still a work in progress, though, which is why it's a bit rough."

"Oh, no, sire, it's great. It's one of the most brilliant techniques I've ever seen!"

"Heh… it does still need work, though…" Kentahito's face turned a slight bit red as he rubbed the back of his head, smiling in embarrassment.

"Well, anyway, are you going to teach me that?"

"I certainly am."

* * *

Keldeo and all of his available soldiers were lined up on an airstrip on the outskirts of Allogne as six planes landed. King Kangaskhan II disembarked from the fourth one in the row, as did many other soldiers from the same one and all the others, totaling close to 400 Pokémon. The soldiers on the outskirts bowed to their king.

"We've awaited your arrival, Your Highness," Keldeo greeted.

"I'm pleased to see you've gotten everyone ready," the king complimented. "However, we cannot attack yet."

"Why not, sire?!"

"Calm yourself! You don't want to go marching straight into our downfall, do you?"

"Our down—wait… are you saying _they_ called for reinforcements, too?!"

"Not yet, but I know how Ottovon approaches invasions. For the Kaiser of the Nation of Peace, he's a very strategic foe. So, we'll have to approach this delicately. And I have a way to do that. Pinna, come forward."

Pinna did so.

"You are of Grani's bloodline, and that particular half of your daughter's Alpha Power came from you. If my suspicions are correct, you could detect the Tradjan Realm Gate. We'll need it open if we are to take Tradja. Are you up to this task?"

"Yes, sire," Pinna answered.

"Then we will begin our search immediately. Where have you felt Alpha Power surging from, if that has happened at all?"

"Believe it or not, sire, it happened while we were on our way here from Velland. It came from the mountains on the way here."

"Say WHAT!" Keldeo exclaimed. "And you didn't alert us to this?!"

"You never asked!" Pinna defended.

"Well, Pinna, we can rectify this mistake," the king interjected. "Just lead me to where you felt that power surge, and we'll investigate there." The king then addressed the rest of his army. "I am sorry to say that none of you will be needed for this job. Only an Alpha of Grani's line is eligible for this. Remain here with Keldeo and stand by."

"Yes, sire!" the army responded.

"Pinna, let's go."

* * *

Later in the night (Zotoan time), Pelame and Emperor Kentahito were back down in the Sparring Room after dinner for more practice.

"Now then, Pelame, what would you like to learn first?" the Emperor asked.

"Well, that Alpha Barrier robe looks good," Pelame answered. "I'd rather start with defensive techniques."

"That's a wise choice, Pelame. They say that the best offense is a good defense, after all. Very well. Observe."

Kentahito's hands glowed gold with Alpha Power. It traveled down to his fingertips, which he pointed toward himself. He lined them up at the top of his head and traced an imaginary line going all the way down to his feet. An Alpha Barrier coated him like a robe.

"Your turn, Pelame. Give it a try. I'll coach you if need be."

"Okay."

Pelame took a deep breath in and then out and shut her eyes. She started charging her Alpha Power. For a moment, she considered focusing her power to her paws, but thought better of it upon remembering that she couldn't easily maneuver them without falling over. She instead focused her charged power to the tip of her tail. She pointed her tail at the top of her head and traced an imaginary line going down her back and ending at the base of her tail. To her surprise, an Alpha Barrier coated her body like a robe.

"Incredible…!" Kentahito complimented in awe. "And only in one try!"

Pelame opened her eyes and saw that her Alpha Barrier was as thorough as the Emperor noted.

"Wow…" she said in awe. She looked back toward her tail. "You know, for a second there, I thought I left my tail unguarded."

"It looked as though that was going to be the case, really. Now then, let's work on offense. And be sure to reinforce your Alpha Armor every now and then. It'll fade away after some time."

"Okay. I'll remember that."

"Good. Then let's get started. We'll begin with power focus, as I call it. Do what you just did before, but keep it there for an attack."

Pelame focused her Alpha Power to her tail.

"Now come at me with it."

Pelame obeyed the Emperor's order, rushing at him with her Alpha-powered tail. She swung it at him and landed a direct hit.

"What happened, Pelame?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look at your tail."

Once Pelame did, she couldn't help but notice how gold it wasn't shining.

"What the—?" she exclaimed in shame. "Let me try another part of my body." This time, she tried focusing power to her front right paw. Once she took a swipe at the Emperor, the power faded. "What's happening here?" Finally, she tried focusing power to her head. She charged forth with a Quick Attack and landed another hit. The Emperor hardly took any damage from it.

"It faded away again," he noted.

"I don't get it… I perfectly replicated your Alpha Armor."

"That you have. Making Alpha Armor runs on a similar principle. Could it be that you're better at defense than offense?"

"You know what, sire? I think that's just it. I have always been better at defense and Purifying. As for fighting, I've had varied results."

"I know that. Sorry to be so blunt, but you're doing so horribly fighting me that I'm struggling to believe you have blood on your paws."

"I don't blame you for thinking that. I don't know what it is, but I just can't fight unless I'm motivated. I failed just about every combat class I was in, but then when I went up against Team Static's boss, I suddenly became a powerhouse. I got my butt handed to me by my old boss when we sparred once, but then I did the same to every Demon-type I came across while I was a member of TIGHS along with Mori. And then, of course, I killed one of the Elite Nine, and now I'm getting tossed around by you, sire."

"I see. In that case, I have just determined what your problem is. Until now, it was just a theory of mine."

"You have? You know what's wrong with me?"

"On this topic, I do. Your problem is motivation."

* * *

"Motivation?" Pinna asked of his king as they made their way through the mountain cave hidden from the view of all non-Alphas. "What makes you say that?"

"From what Keldeo told me," explained King Kangaskhan II. "You haven't been motivated to help us with our goal lately. He noticed your poor performance in Velland, and how you suddenly got your act together just recently."

"We were losing that fight. Not to mention they were fighting us back rather ferociously."

Just then, the two reached the Tradjan Realm Gate.

* * *

"When you put it that way, sire, it makes total sense!" Pelame responded. "I'm awful at sparring. If your theory is right, then the reason I'm bad at sparring is because my opponent is someone who isn't trying to hurt or kill me or my friends. But the Pokémon I've beaten up, or in Walton's case, killed, are Pokémon that _did_ mean me or my friends harm. That's been it all along! I can't believe I never realized that! Sire, you're a genius!"

"Hmm… perhaps that's too strong a word to describe my intellect… hee hee…" Kentahito blushed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I just… I feel so relieved now that I know that. Which means I can work on it. And my friends and family can help along with you! Would that be okay?"

"Of course it would, Pelame. The more help, the better."

"Thank you so much, sire! You are an absolute Arceus-send!"

"Oh, Pelame, are you trying to turn my face as red as it'll go? Hee hee hee…" Kentahito blushed once again and rubbed the back of his head.

"I really do mean it, though. Sire, you—*oof*"

Pelame suddenly felt a lot of pain. She struggled to stand. Eventually, she collapsed. Kentahito approached her.

"Pelame, what's wrong?"

"Ugh… surge of…ow…power…augh… nnngh..." When Pelame scrunched her eyes shut in pain, she could see King Kangaskhan II and her father opening up the Tradjan Realm Gate. "What the… that's—AUGH!—that's impossible! AAAHHH! HE CAN'T DO THAT!"

Suddenly, Pelame fainted.


	40. The Weakening Gates

**Again, many thanks to Naguro for Henri and Marie's French dialogue.**

* * *

Chapter 40 – The Weakening Gates

* * *

In the city of Chestebury, Pumbloomberg, it was currently 5:30AM. Henri awakened at that time to begin another day of building houses for the incoming refugees.

"J'espère qu'on ne va pas manquer de place sur ce terrain géant," Henri muttered to himself lethargically as he looked outside to the housing development. "Juste cinq plus." He then went into his house's bathroom to take a shower. While he showered, he adjusted the water temperature to higher than he usually would have it.

_"__C'est quoi cette soudaine baisse de température?"_ he wondered to himself. Soon, he was done with his shower. Once he stepped out to dry himself off, he suddenly tripped on something. He landed front-first onto the bathroom floor. He looked back and saw what looked like a purple hand in the floor. It disappeared quickly. _"Mais qu'est-ce que…?"_ He got back up onto his feet. But once he did that, he got tripped again, this time landing back-first onto the floor. His head barely missed the sink.

"Il se passe quoi ici?!" he demanded. "Qui ou qu'etes vous!? Pourquoi est-ce. qummmh mmf—"

A purple hand covered his mouth and grasped it tightly, silencing him. A bunch of other purple hands grabbed his arms and legs and dragged him down into the floor.

* * *

In the vicinity of Suzaku City, Keldeo, Pugno, Pinna, Benedict, and Hearst were investigating an old jail.

"So this is Hizeme Prison," Keldeo stated, awed. "I'd love to use this place on our enemies. Pugno, Benedict, Hearst, once we get some backup here, let's get it refurbished and running again. Pinna, go search out traitors to test this equipment out on."

"Yes, sir," Pugno, Benedict, and Hearst responded as they followed Keldeo into the abandoned facility.

_"__Just as long as I'm not harming any innocents…"_ Pinna solemnly thought to himself.

* * *

Pelame's eyes felt very heavy as she struggled to awaken. Her head pounded in pain. She rolled over and fell out of her bed. The fall jolted her awake, and so it was then that she noticed she was in the Palace room she'd been given.

_"__I fainted?"_ she wondered. _"How'd I get here?"_

She looked over at the clock and noticed it was 5:14PM of Ninthmonth 22nd.

_"__Four days?! Was I out for _that_ long?!"_

Her energy suddenly returned to her and she ran out the door.

"AUGH! OW!"

Pelame suddenly stopped in her tracks and saw Blessing and Treasure standing in the hall, clutching their noses in pain.

"Whoa! I'm sorry! I didn't see you there," Pelame told them.

"Do'd worry aboud id," Treasure responded nasally. "Blessing and I are juz glad you're ogay."

"You've been ungonscious for four days," Blessing added, still clutching her nose.

"Yeah. I saw the clock when I woke up," Pelame responded. "I rushed out the door, and I guess I hit you two in the face with the door without realizing it. Again, I'm really sorry about that. I didn't break your noses, did I?"

"Nope," Blessing answered, letting go of her nose. She checked her hands. "No nosebleed, either. Treasure, how about you?"

"I'm good," Treasure answered. "No blood out of my nostrils, either."

"Did anything happen while I was unconscious?" Pelame asked.

"Uhh… well…" Blessing and Treasure looked at each other nervously, and then faced Pelame again. "Just see the Emperor. He'll let you know."

"All right." Pelame started on her way to the Throne Room, knowing that the news he had to tell wouldn't be good. She prepared for the worst once she stepped through the doors into Kentahito's Throne Room. As she expected, he was seated on his throne. The presence that surprised her, however, was that of the pidgeot wearing a dark gray coat decorated with a large gold four-point star-shaped badge.

"Good evening, Pelame," he greeted. "Have a seat."

Pelame obeyed her Emperor, sitting on the cushion facing the throne.

"Pelame, I unfortunately don't have good news for you. While you were unconscious, Tradja fell to the Twilight Kingdom. Worse still, Kaiser Ottovon here informed me that the Twilight King opened the Tradjan Realm Gate and unleashed the Dark Blessing onto the land there."

"I saw him do that!" Pelame interjected. "Just before I fainted, I saw the Twilight King and Pinna at the Realm Gate in Tradja!"

"You did?!" Kentahito and Ottovon both asked.

"Yes! And I felt its power even from here! It was some of the worst pain I've ever felt!"

"Did you see anything else?" Ottovon asked.

"No…"

"Then listen carefully to the Kaiser's words, Pelame," Kentahito requested.

Kaiser Ottovon stepped forward. "As you know, I have unfortunately lost my country to the Twilight King," he began. "I was only able to escape thanks to my vizier, whose life ended up being sacrificed. The power the Twilight King and his army displayed was formidable and horrifying…"

* * *

_The Twilit Army advanced on Allogne with a gigantic aura around them. The Kaiser had arrived with reinforcements. But from the look of those auras combining into one huge one, the odds could turn out not to be in Allogne's favor after all. The Twilight King had his Mortite Staff clutched tightly in his right hand. Along with Keldeo, he stood at the front of his army._

_"__Kaiser Ottovon!" the Twilight King declared. "I'm pleased to see you've arrived! This is your last chance! Surrender peacefully, and no harm will come to you or your country!"_

_"__Not a chance!" Ottovon responded. "Your ridiculous bid for power ends here!"_

_"__Oh. Does it?"_

_King Kangaskhan II slammed his staff into the ground. Upon doing so, a giant wave of Mortite came toward the Tradjan Army protecting Allogne, knocking them all down and trapping them by their hands and feet into the ground. The ground was now covered in Mortite, and the Tradjan Army was instantly at the Twilit Army's mercy. Only Ottovon managed to free himself from the Mortite._

_"__Flee, Kaiser!" pleaded the linoone next to Ottovon. "Return to Nuhtedam! We'll be fine!"_

_"__No!" With one Alpha blast, Ottovon freed as many of the trapped Pokémon as he could._

_"__Kaiser! You need to go now! If you fall, Tradja falls with you!"_

_"__I know that, Jonas! But I'm not just going to leave you to them!"_

_The Twilit Army already began their charge. Ottovon scooped up as many Pokémon as he could into an Alpha Barrier and carried them in his talons as he flew off._

_"__I'll be back for the rest of you!" he promised._

* * *

"But when I returned, Keldeo and the King executed them all for treason. Including Jonas, my vizier. In shame, I turned my country over to the Twilight King."

"I see," Pelame responded sadly.

"What perturbs me, though, is how the Twilight King opened _my_ nation's Realm Gate. Worse still, Sultan Rajukh of Ordoxivia informed me that the same happened to his nation's Realm Gate just yesterday."

"I felt that one, too! That could be why I was unconscious for four days!"

"It seems you have a connection to the Realm Gates," Kentahito surmised. "As you have the ability to Purify and repel the Dark Blessing, that means you're of Grani's bloodline. I'm sure you know he was the original Alpha."

"Yes, I do. By that virtue, his connection to the Immortal Realm and anything to do with it must be the strongest of all Alphas, and he passed that down to his descendants. I got it from Pinna, who is, _MUCH AS I HATE TO ADMIT IT_, my biological father."

"And you said he was with the Twilight King when the Gate was opened?"

"Yes, he was."

"Then he must have had Pinna lead him to the Gate!" Ottovon theorized. "But that only explains how he found it. How he _opened_ it is what we need to find out."

"It might have to do with his dual Alpha and Demon-typing," Kentahito theorized. "But even then, the Realm Gate shouldn't have responded. This is very worrying. Pelame, Ottovon, I will be back."

"What should I do in the meantime?" Pelame asked.

"That's up to you. Due to these events, I may just call off your community service. You could be needed for more important things depending on… well, you know…"

"I see." Pelame then excused herself from the throne room. Outside, she bumped into Mori, who was walking by.

"Oh! Pelame! You're awake!" he said in surprise. "Did the Emperor want you for something?"

"Yeah." Pelame then explained to him what she'd been told by Kentahito and Ottovon.

"That's unbelievable! The Twilight King can open other Realm Gates now?!"

"Sounds like it. The Emperor went to go check on something. In the meantime, I'm not up to anything right now."

"You aren't? Not even any community service?"

"Nope."

"Then, why don't we go exploring the small Northwestern Palace? You up for that?"

"Definitely!"

* * *

Henri awakened somewhere. It was pitch black, so he could make out absolutely no details about where he was. When he tried to stand up, he felt something hold him down. And when he tried to call for help, he found that he couldn't open his mouth. He began to panic, trying to escape from his bonds. Soon, light crept into the area, and Henri could see that what was holding him down was shackles and chains. They were tightened so that his arms were off to his sides and his legs were together and pointing straight down. He was rendered totally immobile. Two Pokémon appeared before him. Both of them were shaped like lanterns and were being held by another Pokémon that looked like a big purple face with two hands. His hands were not connected to the rest of him.

"Mmmf… mmm rmmph mm?!" Henri mumbled.

The strange Pokémon didn't respond as he closely examined the Blooman sneasel before him. He frisked him with the two lantern-shaped Pokémon in his hands.

"Nope, not contaminated," the big purple Pokémon said. "You're free to go." He let go of the two lantern Pokémon and reached over to Henri's mouth, grabbing a small string and pulling it. Henri was able to open his mouth again.

"Qui êtes-vous?!" Henri demanded. "Pourquoi est-ce que ma bouche était cousu?! Pourquoi est-ce que je suis enchaîné?!"

The purple Pokémon looked over to the two lantern Pokémon in confusion.

"Do you know what language he's speaking?" he asked.

"Nope," answered one of the lanterns. "Though didn't this Realm's denizens have more than one language at one point?"

"I guess he's speaking one of them right now. Well, I guess we have nothing to worry about, then." The purple Pokémon turned to face Henri, undoing his chains. "You're free to go. But don't go telling anyone about us." His eyes glowed in a spinning spiral design, constituting a use of Hypnosis.

"Qu'est-ce que vous diiiiiiites…"

Henri collapsed to the floor in sleep. All of the strange Pokémon returned him to his bedroom.

"But just in case someone in this Realm can understand him…" the big ghost Pokémon embedded a small glass ball in Henri's chin with a strange power. "He'll never speak again if he tells anyone about us. Oh, and burn his lips. That way, they'll stop bleeding."

"Gotcha," responded one of the lantern Pokémon as he used Ember to cauterize the wounds on Henri's lips. All the spectral Pokémon then disappeared into a supernatural portal that closed behind them.

* * *

"Gosh… when they say that this Palace is the smallest one, I thought it'd be at least the size of my house," Mori said upon reaching the Northwestern Palace along with Pelame. "Still looks extravagant, though, huh?"

"Sure does," Pelame agreed. "Let's check it out!"

Pelame and Mori entered the Northwestern Palace. Inside, they found it was one room, a long hallway that was colored jade green. The floor, ceiling, and walls were jade green with gold lining its borders. The pillars were the same golden color as the borders and the door.

"Goodness, this room's exquisite…" Mori said in awe. "Hee hee… if I didn't have any pink on my body, I could probably use the wall to camouflage myself."

"Heh… probably," Pelame answered. "You know, this shade of green kinda matches my eyes, doesn't it?"

"A bit."

Going further down the hall brought them to a staircase going down. As they went down the stairs, they noticed the walls had paintings of each of Kentahito's predecessors within his own bloodline. The first one they walked by was a portrait of a dragonite wearing white and red robes. The painting was labeled "Emperor Zedohito, First Generation of the Hito Dynasty." Next was an electivire wearing the same robe, and that painting was labeled "Emperor Narihito, Second Generation of the Hito Dynasty." After that was a magmar in the same robe, with the label "Empress Agnihito, Third Generation of the Hito Dynasty." Following that one was a florges in the same robe, labeled "Empress Hanahito, Fourth Generation of the Hito Dynasty." The next one down depicted a typhlosion in the same robe, with the painting label reading "Emperor Waruhito, Fifth Generation of the Hito Dynasty." After him was a painting depicting a greninja in the same robe. It was the last painting in the row, and it was labeled "Empress Jutsuhito, Sixth Generation of the Hito Dynasty." This last painting had a slice mark down the middle of it, as well as painted-on graffiti reading "貴様！くたばれ、マンコ！お前はわれめ！世界で一番大嫌いぜ！奈落へ行けこのあま！"

"Kentahito's mother was a greninja, huh?" Pelame mused. "And also the last one to wear that particular robe. Gosh, I knew Kentahito was ashamed of his ancestry, but I never thought he'd get rid of the robe that's been in his family since they began ruling here."

"I guess he, like much of the Zotoan populace nowadays," Mori added. "Consider 'ruling' to be an inappropriate word for what each of his ancestors did. I bet you, Miss Llyria-Academy-History-Summa-Cum-Laude, knows each of these tyrants' atrocities."

"Of course I do. Zedohito forcefully conquered this country and forcefully pried it out of Mienshao VI's hands. Oh, and he also killed Mienshao VI's entire family and replaced every trace of their rule and culture with that of his own. Kinda like what the Twilight King is doing now."

"That's ironically hilarious. Here the Twilight King clearly thinks he's the most heroic thing that ever happened to Pocketurn, and yet he's repeating the evil committed not just by his own ancestor, but of Emperor Kentahito's."

"Oh, definitely. I'll be sure to rub _that_ in his face when I confront him. Anyway, Narihito forced all of the women in Daoyin to be suitors to him in hopes of conceiving a so-called 'perfect heir', which ended up with him becoming the father to Agnihito. Speaking of whom, she attempted to capture Swadfuego for basically no reason other than possibly to prove her power to the world. No rhyme or reason at all. But that was nothing compared to Hanahito, who tried to spread gracidea flowers everywhere in hopes of capturing Shaymin. Why, exactly?"

"Who knows? She was just insane."

"Exactly. And then Waruhito attempted a slow and steady takeover of Pumbloomberg by having his soldiers occupy areas of its land. Oh, but by far the worst was Kentahito's own mother, Jutsuhito."

"You know what's funny, Pelame? Jutsuhito's not even in any Zotoan history book. So, whatever you're going to say right now is going to be new to me."

"And I can totally guarantee you that you aren't going to like what you hear. Jutsuhito's historical infamy came from… well… it's actually hard to know where to begin with her. I guess I'll start with the fact that she treated everyone except her son like complete garbage. Raising taxes up to 50%, lowering minimum wage down to 5 Pokéns per hour, using her own soldiers and Palace occupants as practice for her Water Shurikens. And when the Zotoan economy crashed as a result of her foolish mishandling of it, she blamed it on her treasurer and had his whole family executed by torture at Hizeme Prison, and framed Ordoxivia for it, getting a war started with them. And unfortunately, they won that war and gained a lot of Doxivish territory. It was the way they won that war that was the most despicable part, though."

"I'm already afraid to hear. And really, using Hizeme Prison to torture someone is right up there with the worst kinds of evil in the world. So what could be worse than that?"

"This: she had a bunch of lunatone captured so she could forcefully bunch them all together with her Alpha Power. Then, she sent them all to outer space on the night of a full moon, situating them next to the moon. Effectively, she made another full moon, which made the ocean around Ordoxivia rise and drown a lot of the Doxivish population. Not to mention similar ocean-related disasters happened all around Pocketurn. She broke that lunatone-moon apart only because Rajukh's predecessor surrendered to her, which was the terms of the horrible bargain she struck with him. She literally blackmailed him with the threat of possibly drowning the entire planet!"

"You're right, Pelame. She _was_ the worst ruler Shizazoto ever had! No wonder our current Emperor got rid of the previous royal robe; it was worn by an absolute monster of a mother! Plus, that also explains why he graffiti'ed on her painting."

"Oh, do you know what all that says?"

"Yeah, but I don't _dare_ translate it. But considering her actions, especially the threat of drowning the world and also using Hizeme Prison to kill Pokemon who worked for her, she deserves those harsh words."

"What is Hizeme Prison?"

"Honestly, consider yourself lucky no foreign history book ever talks about it. I'll keep it short by saying that nearly every trap in video games, adventure movies, horror movies and all that junk were inspired by that awful place. Actually, pinball machines were inspired by that place, too. I ended up seeing a documentary on it when I was very young, and it still horrifies me even thinking about it."

"I see. Why don't we just keep on going, huh? It'll get your mind off of Hizeme Prison."

"Sounds good. I'd like this trip to end on something positive."

The two continued down the stairs until they reached the room at the bottom. There, it was a circular room with Kentahito's own portrait on the wall opposite where the door was. In the middle was a round pool about 300 centimeters in diameter. Its depth couldn't be determined just by looking at it, as the bottom of it couldn't be seen. It looked almost as if it were a void of complete black. There was a rope barrier surrounding it, with gold posts and jade velvet ropes. On its biggest post was a plaque that read "Shrine of the Royal Family of Shizazoto."

"Trailblazer's gonna flip once he hears that we were here," Mori mused.

"Have you ever been here before?" Pelame asked.

"Nope. I've explored the whole palace already, but I saved this area for last. I wanted to wait until we could have a day together to explore this place."

"Wow. That's…really nice of you. Thanks, Mori."

"No problem, Pelame. Just like old times, huh?"

"Yeah, a bit. This'd be the point where we'd probe the place for mysteries to solve, huh?"

"Usually. Though the Emperor has forbidden the pool, remember?"

"Yeah. But we can look down it from here."

"Sure, I guess."

"After all, those bubbles have to be coming from… some…where…" Pelame went over to the edge of the pool and looked down into the pit, shining an Alpha Light downward. She brightened it as much as she could make it go. The bottom of the pool still couldn't be seen, though when Pelame moved the light around, she saw a brief light reflection.

"What was…?"

She shined the light down there again. This time, she could make out a small figure at the bottom. From the glint of light, she could tell it was a pair of gems.

"Who or what is…?"

Taking a closer look, she saw that it was a Pokémon.

"Pelame, wait! Let's go tell…" But it was too late. Pelame already dove into the Jade Pool. "…the… Emperor…" He sighed and dove in after her.

The pool was indeed very deep. Pelame used Iron Tail to sink herself toward the bottom of the pool. She deactivated it about halfway down, where she was sure she could reach the mysterious figure at the bottom with an Alpha Cord. She made one and lowered it down to the Pokémon. It latched onto the Pokémon, and she pulled it back up. By that time, Mori reached Pelame, much to her surprise. He helped load the Pokémon onto her back. Here, they got a good look at the Pokémon. It was short (about Pelame's stature), had two gems for eyes, and had a ruby in its chest. It also had a sapphire in its back. It was also rather heavy. Despite this, Pelame and Mori were able to haul it out of the pool. They reached the surface and saw Kentahito standing there, glaring at them.

"Uhh… sire… I-I c-can explain…" Pelame started.

"You two. Throne Room. NOW," Kentahito ordered bluntly and angrily.

"…yes, sire…" Pelame and Mori responded glumly, dreading what was to come.

* * *

"Where's Henri?" Flygon asked Marie.

"I don't know," Marie answered. "I didn't see him this morning. Not in the house, not on these housing grounds, nowhere. It's like he just vanished."

"Well, hopefully he turns up. Hopefully after you get me out of here!"

Flygon had once again gotten stuck inside one of the house's doors.

"Why do you keep trying to go into these houses? You know you're too big for them."

"I can't help it! I like the Twilit cooking some of these Pokémon make!"

"Well, you know you could stand to learn to make some of those recipes yourself! You can't keep doing this! It's not good for the houses, the Pokémon living in them, or for you! Besides, you clearly fit through the back door, so you should've gone back out through there!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just get me out!" Flygon placed both his front feet on the house's front porch and tried to pull himself forward to no avail.

"Oh non, pas encore…" Henri complained once he arrived at the housing grounds.

"Henri, où était tu?" Marie asked. "Tu n'étais pas là ce matin. Je commençais à être inquiète!"

"Je t'expliquerai plus tard, même si je doute que tu me croies." Henri walked over to Flygon, who was still struggling to escape his predicament. "Et toi, Flygon, devrait arrêter de te coincer dans les maisons. C'est la dix-neuvième fois que ça arrive!"

"Pal, you know I don't speak your old language no one speaks anymore," Flygon retorted. "Now help me get outta here already!"

"D'accord, mais c'est la dernière fois. Pour de vrai!" Henri went inside the house through the back door and made his way to the house's entrance. He opened the living room window so he could speak to Marie. "Tu connais la méthode, Marie."

"Je l'ai," Marie said, grabbing Flygon's facial spikes. "Tu peux commencer à pousser, je tire."

"Ok! Je le pousse maintenant!" Henri started pushing on Flygon's rear end while trying to dodge his tail. "Garde ta queue immobile! Tu vas m'envoyer valser!"

"What'd he say?" Flygon asked.

"He's telling you to stop thrashing your tail around," Marie answered. Flygon complied.

"Sérieusement, combien de fois je dois te dire de rester tranquille pour que je puisse sortir ton gros cul de là?!"

"Translation?" Flygon asked.

"He's just tired of constantly having to go through this with you," Marie answered.

Henri resumed pushing Flygon out. After two more minutes of this, he was finally freed. Henri exited the house after apologizing to the tenants inside.

"That's better!" Flygon said in joy. "Henri, are you building those front doors small on purpose or what?"

"Ne t'occupe pas de lui, Henri," Marie said to her exasperated brother. "Il est juste en train de se plaindre parce qu'il est trop gros pour passer les portes."

"J'avais compris," Henri answered. He turned his attention to Flygon. "C'est vraiment la dernière fois que je t'aide à te débloquer de ces fichus portes! Si ça arrive encore, je t'y laisse! J'ai eu besoin rester prêt deton énorme cul beaucoup trop de fois! La dernière fois! Tu m'entends?! LA DERNIÈRE FOIS!" Henri stormed off in a huff.

"Short temper, eh?" Flygon said as he went to his own house. Marie went after her brother.

"Tout va bien, Henri?" she asked.

"Ouais," Henri answered. "J'arrive juste pas à croire que cette tête de mule ne veux pas écouter. Sans mentionner son arrogance."

"Je ne peux pas te contredire là dessus. En passant, tu étais où ce matin?"

"Ah ouic'est vrai, je me t'ai pas expliqué. C'est un peu bizarre, mais, tu vois,… hmm… Je sais pascomment le dire… promets moi que tu me croira quand je l'expliquerai ."

"Et donc? Arrête de me faire languir, ça peux pas être si fou."

"J'ai l'impression que si. Je me suis fais enlever par des fantômes."

"…tu as quoi?"

"Tu vois? Je savais que me croirai pas. C'est vrai pourtant. Ils m'ont enlevé, examiné—" As Henri was explaining, his mouth suddenly vanished.

"HAAAA! Henri! T-t-ta bouche! Elle a disparu!"

"Mmm? Mmm…" Henri put his hand to his lips and found that his sister was correct.

* * *

The Throne Room had in it Pelame, Mori, Emperor Kentahito, and a very uncomfortable and foreboding silence. The Emperor was visibly exasperated and furious as he paced back and forth in front of his throne with an angrily furrowed brow. His breathing was audibly harsh. Neither Pelame nor Mori dared to say anything to him out of fear of his response. At last, he spoke.

"I doubt my ability with words sometimes," he seethed. "There comes some times in life where one feels such strong emotion that their very ability to form words fails them. And even _if_ they can form words, it's hard to tell which words would be appropriate to use. Right now, I can safely say that I am going through that. What you two just did earlier frankly makes me not know what to say to express how livid I am at the both of you."

"Sire, we can explain—" Pelame timidly began.

"SILENCE!"

Pelame instantly shut her mouth and covered it with her right paw.

"Something is coming to me now. Pelame, you were well on your way to proving to me that I was wrong to consider you a foolish Pokémon. And then, you just recklessly and callously threw that all away by disobeying a very important order I gave to you when you came here. I really don't know how clear I had to make myself when I told you not to go into the Jade Pool. Either I wasn't clear enough, or you just weren't listening. Either way, you've deliberately disobeyed me. And even worse, Morikain followed you in! So, what do you both have to say for yourselves?!"

"Sire, please believe me when I say we'd never disobey you for no reason," Pelame began. "You see, Mori and I went exploring at the Northwestern Palace. He'd never been there before, so he wanted to go there together with me. And when we got to the Jade Pool, I saw this little guy drowning at the bottom of it." Pelame undid the Alpha Cord tying the little Pokémon to her. "I only dove in to rescue this little guy. I didn't know Mori followed me in."

"Is it okay?" Kentahito asked, his anger giving way to concern.

"It appears to still be alive," Mori answered, having checked the Pokémon for a pulse and finding one.

"Whew, that's reassuring. Well, Pelame, I'd like to take back what I just said. Although I don't want you going into the Jade Pool again, I can appreciate that you disobeyed me for a reason like this. I was ready to reinstate your Community Service, but I think I'll go ahead and call it off and lift your Custody as I previously considered. However, I'll only keep a small part of Custody on you; the part that'll alert me to you being in the Jade Pool."

"I understand, sire. Thank you very much."

"Now then, about this little Pokémon I failed to notice was on your back due to my earlier lividness... what exactly is it?"

"Pelame and I saw runes in history books about Pokémon of a spectral or beastly nature," Mori began explaining. "Ghost-type Pokémon, if I remember right."

"You do, Mori," Pelame added. "And this particular one is called a 'sableye'. But the thing is, Ghost-type Pokémon live only in the Immortal Realm. They can only visit this Realm on Genesis Day."

"Then, could it be possible this little one didn't make it back to its Realm by the time the previous Genesis Day ended?" Kentahito asked.

"It could be. If he wakes up, let's ask him."

* * *

Out in the city of Daoyin in the afternoon, Blessing and Treasure entered a local Hitokage's Burning Tail Noodlehouse for lunch.

"You know, Blessing, we _are_ staying in the Emperor's Palace," Treasure reminded. "What's a place like this in comparison?"

"I think it'd be a bit refreshing to have commoner food for once," Blessing answered. "I missed the stuff."

"Fair enough. I have, too."

The two rang the small desk bell to call a waiter over. One promptly arrived.

"A table for two, please," Blessing requested. "And also, where's the restroom at?"

"I'll lead you to your table first so you can claim a seat," answered the charmeleon waiter. "Neither of you smoke, do you?"

"Certainly not!" Blessing and Treasure both answered.

"This way, then."

They were led to a small table near the window looking out to the street.

"Here you are. And if you need the restroom, it's down those stairs over there."

"Much obliged," Blessing answered. "I'll be right back." She got up from her seat and went in the direction she was informed of.

"While she's freshening up," Treasure said. "Why not start us off with just some water?"

"Coming up," the waiter responded.

Over in the bathroom, Blessing washed her hands after she was done relieving herself. As she dried her hands, the bathroom's lights suddenly switched off, leaving her stranded in the dark.

_"__Urgh… I hope I don't accidentally wander back into that weird toilet,"_ she mentally complained. _"Where's the light switch?"_

She felt around the wall for the light switch. The room lit up just a little bit somehow.

"Thanks," she said. She immediately realized something was amiss. The light switch (which was now visible) was still switched on. She went for the door, but found that it was locked, even though the lock was on the inside of the door. She tried unlocking it, but couldn't. She drew her hand back to pound the door with it, but she was caught by the wrist by something. Looking up, she saw a purple hand grasping her wrist. Another purple hand grasped her mouth before she could call for help. A light purple flame appeared before her.

"Bring her to me," commanded a disembodied voice that echoed around the small bathroom.

"As you wish," responded another disembodied voice. Multiple purple hands grabbed her and pulled her through a portal in the floor. Her muffled screams of terror went unheard by anyone.

* * *

"All finished!" Keldeo said triumphantly. "You all work excellently fast!"

"Sure wasn't easy, sir, let me tell you," Hearst responded. "But it'll sure be worth it. We got anyone to test this equipment out on?"

"Pinna should be back soon with some traitors."

"Well, while we're waiting, let's go ahead and see how to operate each of these weapons."

Keldeo began with the room he was currently in, which overlooked a room that had machinery resembling the flippers and plunger of a pinball machine.

"Pugno, videotape this," Keldeo ordered. "I'd like to make an instructional video."

"As you wish, sir," Pugno answered, getting a video camera ready. He pressed "record" and let Keldeo do his thing.

"As you can see, we updated this control panel to more closely resemble an actual pinball table's controls," Keldeo said to the camera. "It allows for ease of use. These two buttons are for the left and right flippers like so…" He demonstrated by pressing the two buttons. After doing so twice, he signaled Pugno to turn the camera to the window overlooking the room with the machinery. He pressed the buttons again to move the flippers, now that they were in the shot. "And this pull-lever right here…" He pulled out a long rod-shaped lever. "Note what will happen once I let go of it." Pugno focused back on the room beyond the window. Once Keldeo let go of the lever, it went back into the console, causing a large metal rod to rapidly shoot forward with a loud springy sound. The large rod went back to its original position afterwards. "Those are the operations for this room, which will henceforth be known as the 'Pinball Room'. Now, if you'll follow me over here—"

"Here I am, sir," Pinna said, entering the Pinball Room's control center.

"Pugno, pause the camera," Keldeo ordered. "Good work, Pinna. Although… I'd hoped for more traitors."

"These aren't traitors, sir. They're confirmed criminals."

"Oh, even better. And from the looks of those Sigils, they're Alphas. Oooh, this'll be fun!" Keldeo could hardly contain his glee. "Pinna, stay and watch. I guarantee you'll love what we're going to put these five through. Why don't we begin with that absol?"

"My name's Sickle—" Sickle's mouth immediately vanished, per Keldeo's use of his newly-developed ability.

"Yeah, I'm not interested in hearing a word out of you. Oh, and you other four can consider yourselves Silenced as well." With that, he did the same to Sanjuro, Yoki, Kushi, and Pend. He then walked up to Sickle, coming very close to his face. "I'm going to love hearing you try to scream for help." Keldeo touched Sickle's nose with his hoof, squirting a quick Hydro Pump up the absol's nose. Keldeo's satisfied smile grew the more Sickle sputtered. "Into the Pinball Room with him."

"Got it, sir," Hearst responded. He apprehended the mouthless absol and poured oil on him, tying him up with Dark Threads afterwards. He then left the room and joined his captain in the control room.

"Your four over there, take note of this. Because rest assured that each of you will be getting a turn in there and the upcoming weapons. Perhaps then you'll learn to stay on the correct side of civilization."


	41. Hauntings

Chapter 41 - Hauntings

* * *

"How is he?" Pelame asked the audino doctor looking after the unconscious sableye.

"Well, to be honest, his being an Immortal is the only reason he's surviving having water in his lungs," the doctor answered. "I've removed it, so now he just needs time to awaken. He should be just fine."

"I hope so. Poor thing…"

Pelame left the Palace's hospital wing. As she was going back to her room, she suddenly bumped into a frantic Treasure.

"Oh! Treasure! Weren't you out with Blessing shopping?" she asked.

"Yes, but she's gone!" Treasure answered in worry. "And the police still haven't found her!"

"She's _gone_?! Where was she when you last saw her?"

"She was… well, just come with me. I'll show you."

* * *

Treasure showed Pelame the Burning Tail's women's bathroom, where she knew Blessing last was.

"We were all ready to have lunch here," Treasure explained. "Blessing came in here to use the facilities. I waited for her for close to 30 minutes before I went to the bathroom to meet her, and then found that she was gone."

"That's so weird… this bathroom has no windows, this drain on the floor is too small for her to squeeze through, and there's no way she'd go out through the plumbing the toilet's connected to. She'd kill me for saying this, but her butt is too big for that."

"Pelame, even _I_, slender as I am, wouldn't fit in the plumbing."

"Yeah… sorry."

"Seems to me like another disappearance happened."

Treasure was unfamiliar with who just spoke to them, but Pelame was.

"Hey, Kasumi! Long time, no see! I see you've evolved!"

"It's been a while, Pelame," said the croconaw standing in the doorway.

"You know this Pokémon?" Treasure asked.

"Yep," Pelame answered. "This is Kasumi, one of my former coworkers when I worked in TIGHS." Pelame went up to her old coworker. "Kasumi, I can't apologize enough for what happened that day we went to Mujizoto Tower—"

"Let's not dwell on that, Pelame," Kasumi interjected. "It did end up leading me to another calling in life. Lately, I've been investigating these weird disappearances that have been going on around here. Hasn't really been easy to do with the Twilit Army everywhere. I had to get out of Suzaku City quickly once they took it. Weird thing is, all the other Pokémon who have gone missing have been returned. This case you're mentioning is the first time someone's remained missing."

"She's only been gone for an hour," Treasure said. "Were those other Pokémon returned that quickly?"

"Surprisingly, yes. And in fact, I did catch a quick glimpse of the culprit. I made this composite sketch." Kasumi showed the sketch, which depicted a creature that looked like a large face with two hands.

"What in the world is that thing?" Treasure asked. "It looks like a creature from children's nightmares."

"Well, Treasure, you're not far off," Pelame said. "That appears to be a haunter, a Ghost-type Pokémon."

"Ghost-type? There's no such type as that."

"Actually, yes there is. They only live in the Immortal Realm, though. I don't know what they're doing here, though."

"Then, are we just gonna have to wait until they just arbitrarily decide to return Blessing?! What if they decide to keep her?!"

"You know, Mori and I rescued a child from the Immortal Realm who I found drowning at the bottom of—" Pelame stopped herself just short of revealing the forbidden location she found the young sableye at. "—a lake."

"Then why not go ask him about this?" Kasumi proposed.

"That's a great idea, actually! I hope he's awake by now."

* * *

Blessing awakened, although her current location was so pitch-black that she might as well have still been unconscious. The only thing she could tell with it being so dark was that something was suspending her and holding her in place. She also couldn't speak due to something holding her mouth shut. She struggled to escape, but got nowhere.

"Please remain calm," said a disembodied voice. Five purple flames appeared before her. Four of them orbited around her, nearly touching her body. "Do not move." The mysterious flames closely examined Blessing's entire body, starting from the feet and going up her entire body to the top of her head. "Clean. You may go now." The threads disappeared from Blessing's lips, as did the chains holding her in place.

"What's the big idea?!" Blessing demanded. "And what are you monsters?!"

"We are Immortal. My species is known to Mortals as 'chandelure'. I was checking your soul for contamination, and have fortunately found none. And I am happy I found you before Tastebud did."

"Quit dodging the question!"

"Apologies, but I cannot fully explain to you. But there is one Mortal I seek, as that one is the one who most needs to know this information. This Mortal I speak of is descended from the original Alpha, which means that the ability to repel and Purify the Dark Blessing's evil power lives on."

"Hah! Good luck capturing Pelame!"

"Oh? You know this Mortal?"

"Of course I do! She's not gonna fall for whatever nonsense you're up to!"

"I assure you, my intentions are not malevolent."

"Well then, whatever you have to tell her, you can tell me so I can relay it."

"But how will I know the message will reach her?"

"That's easy. You… uh… you see…" Blessing couldn't manage anything but a stammer to answer the chandelure's question. Suddenly, she was teleported away. The chandelure was dumbfounded at what just happened, but did have a theory.

"Tastebud…" she cowered.

* * *

"Calm down, little one!" the audino doctor worriedly ordered. "No one's gonna hurt you!"

The doctor had been at this for nearly an hour, but the little sableye was not calming down. His terrified rampage knocked over just about every object in the hospital wing. He was now clinging to the ceiling in desperation to avoid the doctor's reach.

"Come down from there! You'll fall!"

As the doctor warned, the sableye fell from the ceiling after his claws slipped. He landed on his feet and immediately hunkered down to the corner, cowering and crying.

"What's going on here?" Pelame asked.

"SHUT THE DOOR!" the doctor screamed, scared. "HE'LL GET AWAY!"

Pelame just noticed the terrified sableye. "Quiet down! You're scaring him!" Pelame approached the sableye.

"What are you doing?!"

"There's no point in not trying to comfort him. Just let me try, okay?"

"All right." The doctor left the room and shut the door.

Pelame approached the young sableye.

"Hello there, little one—"

"DON'T HURT ME!" the sableye screamed in tearful fear. "PLEASE!"

"It's okay." Pelame made sure to keep her voice as quiet and soothing as possible. "I won't hurt you."

"You won't?"

"Nope."

"But I'm so far away from home! Where am I?"

"Actually, I was curious to know where you're from."

"I'm from the Immortal Realm. Genesis Day came early and I got dragged into this Realm along with many others I know."

"No, Genesis Day did not come early."

"Then, why did the Realm Gates open? And why did only a few of them open?"

"As a matter of fact, this happened because of a partnership between an evil and deceitful Mortal and an even worse Immortal."

Pelame then explained the details of the Twilight King's betrayal to the world.

"WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!" the sableye shouted. His tone gained even more fear. "THE WORLD'S GONNA END NOW!"

"No, it won't. I'm trying everything I can to keep the worst from happening."

"How?"

"Well…" Pelame mover her neck fur aside to reveal the Alpha Sigil on her chest.

"You're an Alpha?"

"Yes I am. Grani was my ancestor—"

All of a sudden, the sableye's tone turned to excitement and hope.

"Then you're the one the soul doctor's looking for!"

"Who?"

"She's been wanting to meet you. She looks like this." The sableye scratched a sketch of the one he mentioned into the wall.

"Is that… a chandelure?"

"That's what you call this one?"

"According to our legends, yes."

"Well, anyway, she wants to meet you. Votum entrusted her with something important—"

"Votum?! You and this friend of yours know her?!"

"Yes."

"Then I will definitely meet her when I can. In the meantime, how did you get here? I remember you said you were dragged here when the Gates opened."

"I did. I managed to make it back in, but I ended up getting dragged out of another Gate. Then I saw… him!"

Pelame looked over to the door, where Emperor Kentahito was. He entered the hospital wing along with Mori and Neve.

"I saw him leaving, and then I couldn't get back to my Realm. I went around the Gate, trying to find any way out of the area where it was at. Then I went into a pond, where I fell unconscious for some reason. Not only that, but I ended up needing to breathe, and when I did while underwater, it hurt! It hurt my lungs a lot! And then I fell unconscious. Then I woke up in here."

"I see. That's how you ended up at the bottom of the Jade Pool Mori and I salvaged you from. By the way, little one, these Pokémon are very friendly. They won't hurt you, either." Pelame turned to the group. "He's okay now. You can introduce yourselves."

Emperor Kentahito went first.

"Greetings to you," he said warmly. "I am Kentahito, Emperor of Shizazoto and Protector and Enforcer of the Zotoan Realm Gate. I'm very sorry for locking you out of your home Realm. I wish I'd seen you there when I went to re-seal the Gate. I can't re-open it, because some terrible Pokémon might use that one moment as a chance to invade this country."

Kentahito stepped back and allowed Neve to go next.

"Hello, little one," Neve greeted kindly. "My name's Neve. I'm Pelame's mother. It's very nice to meet you."

With nothing else to say, she stepped back and let Mori go next.

"Welcome to the Mortal Realm," he greeted gently. "My name's Morikain. For short, you can call me 'Mori'. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here."

"I think I will. Mortals don't seem so scary anymore!" the sableye joyfully said.

"So, where's your chandelure friend?" Pelame asked.

"Oh, she's waiting for you near the 'Burning Tail' place, last she mentioned. She said so before she left the Immortal Realm."

"All right. I'll go there, then."

"I'll come along," Mori said.

"Me too," Neve added.

"I'll look after this child," Kentahito said. "He could use some company."

"Okay, then we're all set," Pelame said. "Let's go."

As the group left the hospital wing and headed out of the Palace grounds, Zaki suddenly caught up to them.

"Mori, where are you going?!" he demanded.

"I'm just going with Pelame and—"

"Oh, no you're not! Not with the Twilit Army here on Zotoan soil!"

"Dad, I'll be okay—"

"You are staying right here! Only then will you be okay!"

"Mr. Zaki, we won't—" Pelame started.

"Pelame, I'm sorry, but by virtue of being on the Twilight King's 'most wanted' list, my boy's in danger just by being _anywhere_ near you."

"Hey, it's not her fault!" Neve said for the honor of her daughter. "She never asked for any of this!"

"I never said she did, Pelame's Mother, and I never said it was. But be that as it may, it's still a fact that a _lot_ of Pokémon want her dead and won't care if they have to pick off anyone near her. And I don't want my boy to be one of them. So he is staying here, and that's final!"

"Zaki, don't smother him!" Zeki scolded once she arrived on the scene. "He can take care of himself. He's done so in his time in TIGHS, remember?"

"But, he and Pelame both ended up missing for a month in Tradja. Remember?"

"And remember when they escaped? I trust our son, and I trust Pelame. Besides, if anything _does_ happen to him, Pelame will see to his rescue. Right, Pelame?"

"Certainly, Ms. Zeki!" Pelame vowed. "Mori's my best friend, after all! He's like an honorary family member!"

"Pelame…" Mori said, touched.

"That goes for me, too," Neve added. "We'll protect your son. What do you say?"

Zaki contemplated for a moment, and then decided.

"He's not going anywhere."

"But—"

"Without me, anyway."

It would be a lie to say this statement shocked everyone.

"I'm not the adventuring type of Pokémon, but I just want my boy to remain alive. So I'll be tagging along with you all."

"Well, then I guess I'll come, too," Zeki said decisively. "Looks like this'll be a little adventure for the whole family."

"Sounds like a plan," Pelame said. "Now, I did hear Zaki say that the Twilit Army invaded this country. I don't know how far they reached, but just be careful of any furfrou we see out there. Most of the Twilit Army is furfrou, including the Elite Nine."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you reduce that count to 'Elite Eight'?" Zeki asked.

"Yeah… I did. And they're none too happy with me about it. So we'll have to be on our guard out there. I doubt they've made it here to Daoyin, though. Still, be careful."

And so, the two families set out.

* * *

Blessing ended up in another nondescript dark room. Despite the darkness, she noticed her mouth was intact and she wasn't bound in any way. She stumbled blindly around, trying to find any way out. She tripped over higher ground and landed on something that felt like stairs. With a foundation to start from, she started going up the stairs, tripping again once she reached the top of the stairs and took one more step up, expecting another step on the staircase. She got up and walked forward, feeling a velvet-like material in her hands.

"Hooray! You found my stage!" cheered a disembodied voice.

Suddenly, the room lit up. The room was an organized mess of red and green. It looked revolting. An even more horrifying sight awaited her at the bottom of the stairs. There stood a large and shapely purple phantom with spines on its back, a short tail, big red eyes, and a giant toothy grin.

"What in the world are you?!" she demanded.

"I'd ask the same of you, but I'm getting used to this Realm," the phantom answered. "And I've observed some of the stuff that's gone on here. My favorite things being theatre and Pelame. I want to meet her so badly. I'd love to show her the most epic stage play she'll ever see!"

"You and what troupe?"

"Oh, I don't need a troupe, silly amazon. I should've specified: I like puppet theatre. See?" He brought his left arm out from behind his back to reveal a charizard-shaped hand puppet on his hand.

"Hello there, sexy guest!" the puppet appeared to be saying. Blessing knew it was ventriloquism, though. "My, my, my, what a nice body you have. Though, it's not quite perfect."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?! I'll have you know that my body is one of Pocketurn's best! You see this?!" She turned around and showed her rear to the phantom. "No one in _either Realm_ could hope to have a butt as perfect as mine!"

"Maybe if you were a weavile, I'd agree." The phantom then spoke normally. "Of course, that doesn't matter to me. You'll be part of my show, anyway. I only need two puppets, after all; one per hand."

The phantom's right hand glowed red and he tightly grasped Blessing's bottom.

"What do you think you're—?!"

Before she could finish her forceful query, the red glow enveloped her entire body. The whole room flashed red, and Blessing had shrunk down to the size of the phantom's hand. Not only that, but her body below her waist had completely disappeared. Her flesh had become fabric as well. She had become a hand puppet, sentient and aware of her surroundings, but unable to move, speak, or breathe. The phantom slipped the puppet Blessing onto his right hand.

"All right! Let's get a rehearsal done, and then we'll be ready to impress my love!"

* * *

"This was where it happened, huh?" Neve asked. "Where Blessing vanished?"

"Yep," Treasure answered. "I hope she's okay."

"Don't worry," Pelame reassured. "We'll find her." She then spoke to the whole bathroom, raising her voice while taking special care not to scream her words out. "I HEARD YOU WANTED TO SEE ME. I'M HERE NOW, SO COME ON OUT."

No response.

"ARE YOU THERE?"

"Pelame only," answered a disembodied voice.

"WHY ONLY ME?"

"Because I have important information only she must hear."

Pelame sighed. "VERY WELL." She went over to the others who came with her. "She's only letting me in."

"I see. Well, be careful, sweetie," Neve said.

"And come right back when you're done," Mori advised.

"I will, Mori. Before I go…" Pelame gestured for Mori to come closer to her. Once he bent down to meet her face-to-face, she whispered a plan to him.

"Got it." Mori told it to the others in the group.

"You're crazy, young lady," Zaki chastised.

"Probably, but it's better to be prepared."

Pelame stepped into the bathroom and shut the door. "OKAY. I'M READY."

"Okay," responded the voice. "My assistants will pull you in now. Assistants, please be gentle with her."

"Got it," responded multiple voices.

A dark portal opened in the floor beneath Pelame. Multiple hands grabbed Pelame and pulled her down. She activated her Alpha Power. In doing so, the door was pushed open and an Alpha Cord extended forth from Pelame's Sigil and attached themselves to Mori, Neve, Zaki, and Zeki. Pelame then completely went through the portal, as did Mori. But the portal closed before Neve, Zaki, and Zeki could be dragged in. As a result, the Cord snapped and disappeared.

* * *

Pelame and Mori arrived in a dark room. There was only very dim lighting provided by the chandelure who greeted them.

"Greetings, Pelame," she said. "I wish you'd arrived alone, though. It's for your friend's own good that he didn't hear what I am going to tell you. Why did you bring him along?"

"Anything you have to tell me, he can hear, too," Pelame said assertively. "And honestly, this secretive behavior is really suspicious to me."

"I'm sorry you feel that way. But please believe me when I say that I mean you no harm. I came here on behalf of Votum to give you this." The chandelure pointed her flames at Pelame and blasted her with them. Somehow, it wasn't hurting her. When the flames dissipated, the chandelure spoke again. "You already have the ability to repel and Purify the Dark Blessing and its power. I have given you a new ability very similar to that. Lately, other Immortals have been tinkering with dangerous powers. None of them are as dangerous as that of the Dark Blessing, but they are still very formidable. One Immortal in particular has been messing around with the Itemizer Spell. He's abducted a charizard from a prison and turned him into a hand puppet, and I fear the same happened to a friend of yours he swiped from me."

"From you… wait, _you_ abducted Blessing?"

"Where is she now?" Mori asked. "Do you know?"

"Unfortunately, I do not," the chandelure answered. "I only took your friend to examine her soul for contamination."

"By 'contamination,' you mean the Dark Blessing, right?" Pelame asked.

"Correct. My species has the ability to burn souls, but that was not what I was doing to your friend. I have the ability to burn souls, but I never utilize it unless I find a contaminant to try to weaken. I can look into souls for such things, and I've found Dark Blessings in a few Mortals. But there's more to it than its usual operation of simply occupying a place in a Pokémon's mind and guiding them to evil. This is what I've been needing to tell you. As we get closer to Genesis Day, all Immortal Power gains strength. This includes Alpha Power and the Dark Blessing. And now, we've discovered that the Dark Blessing is strong enough to possess the body of a Pokémon, and force its true owner out."

Pelame remembered the incident with Vallory back in the Ville.

"And if it isn't stopped by Genesis Day, the Dark Blessing's creator will most certainly be revived. And she will obliterate the world."

"I know… I'm trying all I can to prevent that. But I don't know if I'm doing it right…"

"Pelame, you are," Mori reassured. "Besides, it's not your fight alone."

"Is your loyalty to Pelame why you came with her?" the chandelure asked.

"Yes. I'm proud to be loyal to her."

"That is a good virtue to have. I wish I could impart an Immortal Power to you, but only Alphas can receive them. My apologies."

"It's okay. I can manage with just my Mortal abilities."

"I see. Then the very best of luck to you both. Assistants, please send these two back."

"As you wish," responded a bunch of phantoms shaped like faces with hands.

"Oh! You're all haunters!" Pelame and Mori both stated in awe.

"You don't fear us?" one of the haunters asked.

"Nope," Mori responded. "We've heard all the stories about Ghost-type Pokémon. To say the least, it's a treat to actually meet some actual Ghost-types."

"Well, we're flattered. And it's been great meeting Mortals ourselves. We don't mean to cause any trouble, but there's one Ghost who does. Be careful of him. He calls himself 'Tastebud', and he looks kinda like us, but bigger, fatter, and with an actual body. If he catches you, use this to escape." He gave Pelame a small glass ball. "That's an Escape Orb. It'll pull you straight out of a Mystery Dungeon or places like them. Still, though, be on the lookout for Tastebud."

"He abducted a Mortal our boss was examining."

Before any further explanations could be given, Pelame was suddenly dragged through a portal in the ground. Mori quickly followed after her.

* * *

"Yep, in you go, you piece of garbage," Keldeo smugly said. He pressed a button on the underside of his podium, opening a trapdoor that dropped the tyrunt in front of him into the pool below. He watched with murderous glee as the terrified Pokémon drowned. "Accomplice to a confirmed traitor rescinds one of the right to live. Now then, back to torturing."

"Keldeo, sir," Pugno said. "Why don't we look for _really_ dangerous traitors to do this to?"

"Pugno, what do you mean by that?"

"I'm not disagreeing with your desire to keep the world safe, but it looks like you're prosecuting just anyone."

"Pugno, that is an absurd accusation."

"Sir, that tyrunt was only tagging along with an arsonist. There's no record of him actually participating in it. Did he really deserve to die?"

"Of course he did! Don't sympathize with traitors, Pugno! Many more of them are being brought here for trial, so I don't want this ridiculous train of thought to continue. Now get back to work."

"Yes, sir…"

* * *

Pelame and Mori appeared in a mysterious location. It was completely dark, even with Pelame using her Alpha Light.

"Let's stick together, Mori," Pelame suggested. "That way, we won't lose each other in the dark. Mori?"

No response.

"Mori, are you there?"

Still no response. Pelame frantically looked around for her friend. As she was doing that, the room suddenly lit up. Pelame scrunched her eyes shut in response to the sudden light hurting her eyes. It took a little while for her eyes to adjust to the light, but even then, she found the room's clashing and strangely organized red and green color scheme painful to look at. The floor was a checkerboard pattern of red and green, the steps leading up to the stage also alternated between red and green, and the curtain was green with red on the ends of them. Regardless, she noticed that Mori was missing.

"You're here! You're finally here!"

Pelame was greeted by a portly purple phantom who had magically materialized in front of her. He had his hands behind his back. Meeting his eyes, Pelame could tell he was very happy and eager to see her, to quite an uncomfortable extent. She could almost swear hearts were in his eyes.

"I'm so happy you're here, Pelame! Thanks for coming!"

"You're… a gengar…" Pelame responded. "And how do you know my name?!"

"I saw a lot of events that happened in the Mortal Realm, including your amazing adventures. Out of all Mortals I've seen, you are by far the loveliest." The gengar disappeared. When he reappeared, he was floating just above Pelame's head. He stroked her face with his right hand. "You have the perfect body, the perfect face, the perfect eyes. I colored this room to match your eyes and mine. We're perfect, eh?"

"Are you… hitting on me…?"

"And look what I've got here!" He disappeared again and reappeared on the stage. He opened the curtain to reveal the wall behind it, which was full of various pictures of Pelame. "A shrine dedicated to you, my lovely! Not only that, but the greatest puppet show in the world! All just for you!" He vanished again and appeared in front of Pelame. "Here, meet the cast!" On his hands appeared two hand puppets. One was a charizard and the other was a sneasel.

"…Blessing…?" Pelame asked, horrified.

"Hey there, Pelame!" the Blessing puppet asked courtesy of the gengar's ventriloquism. "I'm an actress now! Tastebud here gave me a part in his great play! You'll love it!"

"You… turned my friend and that charizard into a puppet…?!"

"I've got a third actor in my troupe, too!" he excitedly said in his normal voice. He elongated his tail and showed that there was another puppet affixed to it.

"MORI!" Pelame's fear quickly turned into fury. Too quick to be countered, she tossed an Alpha Orb at Tastebud.

"My cast!" Tastebud exclaimed in anguish as he dropped his puppets. Pelame ran up to the puppets and tried out the power the chandelure had given her earlier. The three puppets were changed back to their flesh and blood forms.

"Ooooouuughhh…" the charizard moaned, rubbing his rear. "Ohhhh… my whole body hurts…"

"Me too…" Mori complained, also rubbing his rear. "Having another Pokémon operating you from inside is sure not going to be slept off…"

"My butt is in an impossible amount of pain…" Blessing complained, rubbing her rear. "Same for the rest of me, inside and out…"

"NOOOOO! MY SHOW'S RUINED!" Tastebud wailed. He dramatically collapsed to the ground. "Pelame, my sweet, why? I put this together just for you, my love? Why did you ruin it?"

"Are you serious, Tastebud?" Pelame answered incredulously. "You really see _nothing_ wrong with turning Pokémon into puppets?!"

"Hey, at least I wasn't killing them!"

"That's no excuse! You can't just do these kinds of things to Pokémon! Don't you see how much pain they're in?! Look at them!"

"I don't wanna… Pelame… I just wanted to impress you…" Tastebud's voice was breaking. "I love you, Pelame. You're the greatest creature who ever lived. I want to marry you."

"I'm sorry, Tastebud, but I don't want to marry you. Perhaps we could've at least been friends, but you blew even that chance. I can't let you keep that dangerous power of yours." Pelame went up to Tastebud and used her new ability to Purify his Itemizer ability out of him. "I'm glad you enjoy the Mortal Realm. Dwell here peacefully without tampering with any more of its inhabitants."

"…please don't leave, Pelame…"

"You're not stopping us. We're leaving. Think about your actions."

Pelame then used the Escape Orb to whisk herself, Mori, Blessing, and the charizard out of Tastebud's hideout.

* * *

The four Pokémon appeared in the middle of a city. Blessing and the charizard accompanying them weren't familiar with it. Pelame and Mori, on the other hand, were.

"He hid out below Suzaku City?" Pelame wondered.

"Looks like it," Mori theorized. "It's sure gonna be a long trip back to Daoyin."

_"__Hasn't really been easy to do with the Twilit Army everywhere. I had to get out of Suzaku City quickly once they took it."_ Pelame remembered Kasumi saying.

"We'd better get out of here now, then!" Pelame ordered.

"Get out of where, now?"

The four Pokémon found themselves surrounded by Twilit troops. They quickly bound the four with Dark Threads.

"We meet again, Pelame," Keldeo gloated, entering the fray. "Though I'm disappointed that you ended up being so easy to apprehend. And by the manner of your appearance here, I'd say you've been tinkering with Immortal Realm-related power. And those three with you undoubtedly were assisting you. The 'honor' of traitors…"

"Not a chance!" Pelame retorted. "Unlike you, _I've_ kept my paws clean of that stuff!"

"Nonsense. Your desperation to see us lose is the kind of madness that'd drive a Pokémon to such ridiculous measures."

"Why _shouldn't_ she want to see you lose?!" Mori demanded. "Considering what you and your army represent—" Mori's mouth vanished.

"I don't recall giving any of you permission to speak. Though I'd like to know what's keeping me from being able to Silence Pelame. But I'll make do with Silencing the others for now…" Keldeo then did just that to the charizard and Blessing. "Oh, and thanks for bringing Immolga to me." Keldeo addressed his soldiers. "Gag Pelame with a Lum Scarf and take the four of them to Hizeme Prison. I'll be back to torture some vital information out of them once I finish rounding up the city's elders."

Mori's eyes widened in terror. _"No! _Anywhere _but Hizeme Prison!"_ He started trying to struggle out of the threads, which only tightened their hold on him in response.

"Yes, sir!" responded the sixty furfrou soldiers to their captain.


	42. Hizeme Prison

Chapter 42 – Hizeme Prison

* * *

"I'm really sick and tired of you obstinate wastes of flesh withholding vital information from me," Keldeo fumed.

"But I assure you, Mister Keldeo," pleaded the scared furret standing below the judge. "I don't know where the Realm Gate is! It's a Royal Secret!"

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but you are a sage of Mujizoto Tower, are you not?"

"Yes, but—"

"Which has a vital connection to the Zotoan Royal Family, correct?"

"It does—"

"Then your claims of not knowing where it is are complete nonsense. So unless you'd like to have a large amount of electricity fry every part of your body, I suggest you stop holding out on me and cooperate!"

"Sir, he's not lying," Pugno interjected.

"Pugno, it isn't your place to decide that. Return to your post."

"Feel his carotid artery, sir. That'll determine whether he's lying or not."

"Pugno, I thought you'd know that that's a technique prone to false results. So, no, I will not be doing that. But what I _will_ do is declare this codger guilty of withholding information. And that constitutes as treason, which is punishable by death."

"No. Your Honor, don't! Please!" begged the furret.

"This is just what you get for making the wrong choice. So long."

Keldeo pressed a button on his podium which opened the trapdoor the furret was standing on, dropping him into the electrified water below. The furret met with a painful but quick end upon contact. Keldeo shut the electricity off once the victim was done frying.

"Dispose of the traitor's remains," Keldeo ordered of Pugno. "I've got more traitors to torture."

* * *

Although Pelame managed to restore everyone's removed mouths, she couldn't do anything about the Inopsite chains and cuffs binding them and herself. All of her items had been confiscated. She also hadn't managed to remove the Lum Scarf that was currently keeping her mouth shut. Three more had been placed over Blessing's, Mori's, and Immolga's mouths in preparation for Pelame restoring their mouths, knowing that Inopsite couldn't block Alpha Power. Mori was desperately trying to escape his bonds and the cell. He rammed his shoulder into the bars of the cell, trying in vain to break through. Pelame managed to get her gag off of her mouth, allowing her to speak.

"Mori, what's the matter?" she pleaded with the panicking grovyle. Mori didn't hear as he continued to try to beat his way out of the cell. During his struggles, his gag slipped off.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!" he screamed in terror. "LET ME OUT!" He continued crashing himself into the bars. "I HAVE TO GETO UT OF HERE! THEY'LL KILL ME! I DON'T WANT TO GET BURNED! LET ME OUT!"

"MORI!" Pelame shouted, slapping Mori in the face with her tail. Mori's panic stopped in response. "Mori, what's the matter?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Blessing asked, managing to struggle out of her scarf. "He's scared out of his wits."

"I know that, Blessing. What I'm wondering about is why that is."

"I'm dreaming… I can't be here right now… I'll wake up soon…" Mori stammered.

"Mori, you're not dreaming. I'm sorry, but this is real life. We got ambushed by Keldeo and a bunch of his minions. They took us to a place called Hizeme Prison—"

"I KNOW! And that's why we need to escape! They'll kill us!"

"Mori, we'll escape somehow. Now, what's wrong?"

Mori sat down and explained.

"I learned about this place when I was still going to school. I saw it on a history documentary once. This is Hizeme Prison, which means 'Prison of Fiery Torture'. How many of you have ever played action-adventure video games like 'Playful Pokémon's Quest'?"

Everyone raised a hand/paw in response.

"You know how that game has deadly traps in each of its levels?"

"Oh, don't _even_ remind me of that stupid Agony Labyrinth level!" Blessing complained. "I don't know how Torden got past that level on his first try."

"I got past that level on my first try, too," Pelame added. "But I remember its traps, decorations, and general torture chamber motif."

"That level was directly inspired by this place," Mori continued explaining. "It was used by many servants of the Hito Dynasty Royal Family to torture the nation's worst criminals, most of whom died. Lots of its torture methods rely on heat. That's why we need to get out of here now!"

"Yeah," Pelame agreed. "Keldeo and this prison are a match made in Suffering."

"Uhh… speaking of him…" Blessing observed.

"Heh heh heh heh… even though your Alpha Power still works despite the Inopsite…" Keldeo taunted as he entered the cell Pelame and her party were being held in. "You're still helpless before me. And let me tell you, that greatly satisfies me. Of course, per the king's orders, you are not to be killed. Much as I hate to do this, you will have to be excused from being tortured since you're so weak you could literally drop dead during the process. But I can at least settle for doing this…" Keldeo stuck his hoof on Pelame's nose and squirted a quick blast of Hydro Pump up it. She sputtered and coughed. "And as for your friends, well, the only reason I haven't killed them by now is because I believe they know everything you do. So I'll just torture it out of them instead. And you can watch from in there. I've turned the wall behind me into a monitor of all the torture rooms for your viewing pleasure. Now then, you three come with me." Keldeo seized Mori, Blessing, and Mori and took them with him. "And these three can keep you company in the meantime." Upon that statement, Hearst brought in Sanjuro, Kushi, and Sickle, tossing them into the cell and closing it. "As I understand it, Pelame, you have a bit of a history with these ones. I believe that'll be suitable torture for you." Keldeo then left with Hearst and the prisoners, leaving Pelame in the cell with the new cellmates.

_"__I'll regret this for sure,"_ she thought as she used her Alpha Power to restore the three Alpha Task Force members' mouths.

"Well, well, well," Sanjuro taunted as soon as he regained his mouth. "Look who ended up on _our_ side of the bars. Little Miss 'Alpha Power should be used only for good, reward or not!' herself! So, how'd you get your pretentious butt tossed in here, eh?"

"Not that a scumbag like you deserves to know, but you'd find out sooner or later regardless. I'm the Twilight King's number one public enemy."

"Wow!" Sanjuro sounded very amused. "What'd you do?"

Seeing no point in withholding such important information, Pelame came clean. From the Twilight King's betrayal up to this very moment, she explained everything.

"Ah, so you set out to save the world, epic tale-style," Kushi said.

"Only for all this to happen," Sickle added.

"Basically meaning that Pocketurn's going to Suffering because of you," Sanjuro finished.

"THE TWILIGHT KING TRICKED ME!" Pelame screamed. "I would _never_ voluntarily doom the world! I just want it to remain livable!"

"Well, you're sure doing a terrible job of that. And really, do you think you can rid the world of _all_ evil? Well, Pocketurn to Pelame, you can't! So tone your little Arceus complex down!"

"It isn't me who has an Arceus complex—"

"Well, you're not too different from the Twilight King! You both set out on some stuck-up goal to 'fix the world' and acting like you're the most reasonable Pokémon that everyone must listen to."

"Well, to be fair, Pelame's not trying to erase culture from the world…" Sickle defended.

"True, but the point is, Pelame, you are not the saint you think you are."

Pelame had been glaring at the shiny greninja before her. But after hearing his tongue-lashing, her expression softened somewhat.

"I know that," she admitted. "The Emperor has made that clear to me. I can only hope _you've_ learned something similar. I mean, I don't know what you could learn from Keldeo—"

"Oh, we've learned a few things from him," Kushi interrupted. "Mainly how tough we are to survive his torture methods. Sure hope those pals of yours are as tough as us. That sexy sneasel they carried off better hope they don't use the pyramid seat."

* * *

"You know, I take great satisfaction in torturing any criminal, no matter who it is," Keldeo said as Hearst finished tying Blessing's feet and hands together and then doing the same to Mori and Immolga. "Traitors, though… well, torturing _them_ is a very special experience. See, it's them that I saved the most especially painful weaponry for." Keldeo walked over to a stove that had boiling water in it and picked it up. Hearst forced Blessing's mouth open as Keldeo poured a portion of the boiling water into her mouth. The same was then done to Mori and Immolga. He then Silenced the three of them before they could spit out the scalding water, which forced them to swallow it, burning their throats on the way down. "Ahhhh… your screams of agony are so much better when they're muffled and hard to hear," he gleefully responded to the three victims' muffled screams of pain. "Raise the volume of your screams as we go on, will you? It's music to my ears. Hearst, the pans, please."

"Right here, sir," responded the Dandy-trimmed furfrou as he gave his superior two red-hot frying pans and one cold one. They all varied in size. Keldeo took the smallest one over to Blessing and strapped it to her behind, burning her there. After doing the same to Mori and Immolga with the pans meant for them, his satisfaction grew as he heard them express their pain.

"Perfect," he said. "They're ready to move on. We'll get the Realm Gate's location out of at least one of these backstabbers. Oh, and don't remove those pans until torturing begins."

"Which one will we be using on them first?" Hearst asked.

"I'll leave that up to you. I've got some other traitors' trials to preside over. I'll be right back." With that, the Judge/Captain left to go decide the fates of more Pokémon, leaving Hearst to administer pain to the three hogtied captives.

"Well, the Captain/Judge would like to witness you three in especially excruciating pain," Hearst said to the three captives. "So I'll just catch it on that security camera there. You first, hip-swayer." He dragged Blessing into the Pinball Room.

* * *

Keldeo took his place on the judiciary podium and donned his Judge attire. The room was dark, lit only by the glowing of the electric panels electrifying the pool of water below the thick glass floor. The room was given a blue glow as a result as well as a low buzzing sound.

"Okay, who's next?" Keldeo asked.

"This one, sir, just as you ordered," Pugno responded as he brought in a seviper. "He's a guard over at the jail we imported most of the other prisoners from. If I may ask sir, why is he being prosecuted? He was helping keep criminals in line."

"He was the least assertive of the guards. He wasn't doing his job correctly."

"With all due respect, sir, why is that a reason to prosecute a Pokémon?"

"He failed to get the message across that criminals exist to be punished. That makes him one himself."

"Sir, that doesn't make any sense!"

"Pugno, know your place! _Who's_ the Judge?!"

"…you are, sir…"

"Exactly. Stifle those concerns of yours, Pugno, because you're beginning to sound like the traitors we're prosecuting. All you are here is a guard. Now then, on to the trial."

"Trial?" scoffed the seviper. "Coming from you, that just means I'm dead. I know how you function, you fascist!"

"Well, that settles it. Guilty." Keldeo dropped the seviper to his electrical death. "He asked for it."

Pugno stared down at the seviper's corpse in sadness and pity.

"You know, I'm missing a lot of torturing. Just bring them all in at once and let's get their deaths over with."

Reluctantly, Pugno obeyed. He watched sadly as the next six Pokémon he brought in all got dropped in with Keldeo's gleeful decree of "Guilty!". He then got down from his podium. "Well, back to torturing the public enemies." He took off his Judge attire and left it under the podium.

"Sir, what did those Pokémon even do?!" Pugno demanded.

"Same as the seviper: sub-par job performance. If they can't correctly do their job serving and protecting, they don't get to waste space in our world."

"With all due respect, sir, that is _completely insane_. I understand punishing criminals and traitors, but you're starting to treat just _anyone_ like Pokémon in those categories."

"Excuse me?!" Keldeo retorted angrily. "Pugno, are you seriously sympathizing with the enemy?!"

"No, sir. I'm just sympathizing with the innocents—"

"THERE ARE NO INNOCENTS IN THIS FACILITY! Everyone behind bars or in the torture rooms are guilty of all kinds of crimes!"

"Do you know that for certain?"

"Of course I do! I've never wrongly accused a Pokémon of anything! And really, Pugno, you're well on your way to a prosecution yourself! I'll warn you this time, but next time you press me like this, I won't be able to guarantee your survival. Do you understand me?!"

"…yes, sir…"

"You know, Pugno, until recently, you were one of my finest soldiers. Don't think I didn't notice your pity when we conquered Velland. Perhaps you're not the prodigy I thought you were. So I'm putting you on patrol." Keldeo stormed off.

_"__What's his problem?!"_ Pugno thought to himself in anger.

* * *

Blessing lie on the floor of the Pinball Room, having been too savagely bludgeoned by its mechanism to move. The Dandy-trimmed furfrou approached the beaten sneasel.

"It's been a shame to ruin that appealing body of yours," he stated with fake concern. "Particularly the moneymaker here." He forcefully nudged Blessing's bruised bottom, harming her. "You know that you can salvage the rest of those looks of yours by just telling us where the Realm Gate is." He restored Blessing's mouth and awaited her answer.

"I see Keldeo taught you that mouth-removal technique of his," Blessing answered. "Not that it's any help to you. You're asking the wrong Pokémon about the Realm Gate. Besides, I'd keep it a secret from you even if I knew."

"You really do take after Public Enemy #1. Very well, then. Let's see if you'll hold on to your secrets after taking a rest on the pyramid seat."

* * *

Mori couldn't escape his Inopsite cuffs no matter what. He was held down to the ground, spread-braviary. Four heavy iron cubes were suspended by strong chains that were held up to the ceiling that was 150 meters up. Mori knew what their purpose was, hence his desperation to escape.

"It disheartens me to see how little you value your life," Keldeo taunted over the room's intercom. Mori could see him through a window high up that overlooked the room. "Allying yourself with traitors, especially Public Enemy #1, is an especially foolish decision to make with it. And that's why you are going to be punished. Think about your mistake while the cubes break your limbs."

Mori's panicked struggles continued as Keldeo pressed a button on the room's control deck, dropping one of the heavy cubes directly onto his right leg. His right leg couldn't withstand it. Though his mouth had been removed once again by Keldeo, his scream of agony was still rather loud. Tears streamed out of his eyes. A minute later, another weight fell onto his left leg, breaking it as brutally as his right. Two minutes later, the two remaining weights dropped onto his arms, breaking them as well. Mori couldn't take it. Upon the pain received from his arms being broken, he fainted. Keldeo walked into the room and restored Mori's mouth. He then poured Chesto Juice into Mori's mouth, waking him instantly.

"You MONSTER!" Mori yelled at the captain.

"You have only yourself to blame, Morikain," Keldeo smugly responded. "And I've got much more in store for you. That is, unless you can convince me otherwise. And the only thing you need to do to convince me otherwise is to tell me something very important."

"What makes you think I'd tell you _anything_ other than how much I hate you right now?!"

"It seems to me that ever since Pelame became our Public Enemy #1, she's effectively replaced Pugno's spot in her life with you. One would have to be a fool not to notice that. See?" Keldeo pulled up a video feed of the cell Pelame was locked in basements below. She was trying to break out of her cell. "See, she just saw your arms and legs get broken as punishment for your stubbornness. She cares very deeply about you. And that's why I believe she's shared some very important secrets with you. There's one in particular I need to know. Where is the Zotoan Realm Gate? I know Pelame's told you about it."

"No, she has not. And even if she did, there's no way I'd tell you or _any_ of your goons and superiors about it!"

"Well, suit yourself. We'll see how well your body can take more punishment. I think I'll enjoy watching you suffer what's coming next. Hee hee hee…"

* * *

"STOP IT!" Pelame screamed in desperation. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

"You know, Pelame, those bars aren't going anywhere," Sanjuro summated. "Just give up. Your pal's doomed."

"Shut up! I don't need your commentary right now! I need to save Mori!"

"Well, good luck trying to Tackle down solid metal."

"Uhh… Sanjuro?" Sickle added. "She's got working Inopsite on. And by the way, Pelame, I wouldn't use Alpha Power if I were you. Those shackles will shock you if you do."

Pelame saw what was happening to Mori on the screen. Keldeo was currently having Mori's rear paddled with a metal oar-shaped object that was on fire. At the same time, a hammer was beating him over the head.

"Hang on, Mori!" Pelame continued attacking the bars. "I'm… coming…" She then collapsed to the ground, conscious, but tired. "I need to save him…"

"Hey, what about that sexy sneasel and that charizard?" Kushi asked. "You forgetting them?"

"Of course not. I'll save them, too. And by the way, where are Yoki and Pend?"

"Oh, Keldeo killed them," Sanjuro answered nonchalantly. "Burned Yoki on the White Chair and dropped Pend into the Electric Pool."

"That's awful!" Pelame said, sounding sympathetic. "Never thought I'd say this, but sorry for—"

"Save your pity. I know you don't really mean it."

"No, I _do_ mean it. They certainly weren't good Pokémon, much like you three, but I don't think they deserved to die."

"Uh-huh, sure."

"Well, fine! Don't believe me!"

Pelame faced a corner of the back of the cell and sat down in a huff.

"Such a moody little saint."

* * *

Immolga was in a very cold room. A giant extraction fan was sucking him toward the blades. A grated wall kept him from reaching the blades, but it was hurting his back as the wind was forcing him against it. Not only that, but the wind was powering a smaller windmill in the room whose icy blades were pelting him in the face. His face was bludgeoned to the point where it was starting to swell. After ten minutes of this, the fan switched direction and blew him face-first into the adjacent wall. The wall was deliberately built thin so that his head would get stuck in it, but no other part of his body would. The wind from the giant fan was forcing the rest of him against the wall, severely chafing his stomach. A small windmill on that side of the room was pelting his upturned behind. By the time it ended ten minutes later, he was numb. He lacked the strength to even try to pull his head out of the wall. His body flopped down once the fan's wind stopped forcing him against it. He was pulled out by Hearst.

"You know, big guys like you are especially fun to mess with," he teased. "Seeing such a big, mighty Pokémon like you reduced to this is rather hilarious." He then restored Immolga's mouth.

"Urgh… it hurts me so much to sit down…" he complained. "I can't even rub my butt…"

"Tough luck. So, mind telling me about the Realm Gate? I know Pelame told you about it, as well as any number of important secrets."

"No such luck, pal. I hardly know that lady. I basically met her today. True, I saw her once before, but I hardly remember that—" Immolga's mouth vanished again.

"Well, that's too bad. You'll be remaining here, then. I'll be back after I check in on another prisoner."

He started the fan up again and left the room. This time, Immolga's entire upper body got stuck in the wall.

* * *

Pugno's patrol took him down to the basement where Pelame was being held along with the remaining Alpha Task Force members. Kushi was currently attempting to escape the cell, but was stuck halfway through. Pugno pushed him back in. He looked at the wall's display and saw Keldeo was currently busy torturing Mori. He leaned down to Pelame, who was glaring at him.

"Pelame," he whispered. "Use your Alpha Power on those cameras."

"Why should I listen to you, backstabber?!" Pelame demanded.

"Do you want to rescue Mori or not?!"

Pelame considered that for a moment. "*sigh* For Mori, I'll have to take this chance." Ignoring the shocks her cuffs were giving her in response to her Alpha Power usage, she aimed a few energy attacks at the surveillance cameras lining the walls, making sure to hit Pugno as well.

"Good shot, Pelame," Pugno complimented. "Now then…" he aimed a few Aura Spheres at everyone's cuffs, breaking them. He then unlocked the cell. "Get going now!"

"Pugno?!"

"Pelame, you were right all along. I'm sorry for taking so long to realize that I was on the wrong side. Now go!"

"…thanks, Pugno." Pelame exited the cell block along with Sanjuro, Kushi, and Sickle. Pelame didn't notice the tagalongs until she reached a furfrou guard a few rooms ahead, which Sanjuro quickly dispatched with a Water Shuriken.

"Sanjuro?!" Pelame shouted.

"You really think I'm staying here?!" he demanded. "Not a chance! I've taken enough torture from those monsters!"

"Me too!" Kushi added.

"Me three!" Sickle added.

"So, it looks like we're gonna have to cooperate for now," Sanjuro summated.

"Well… all right then," Pelame said in resignation. "But only until we escape. Now let's get out of here!"

Pelame led the charge out.

* * *

"Morikain, you can put an end to this anytime you want," Keldeo condescendingly reprimanded. "Is your life worth keeping a secret?"

"Ngh… I'm telling you, I don't know where the Realm Gate is!" Mori answered through pain-induced tears. He was strapped down onto a table with his stomach facing upward. A tire just the width of the green stripe on his belly was being lowered down to him. A few more millimeters and it would reach his navel.

"You've told me that lie all day today, and I'm no closer to believing it now than I was before. In fact, you just make me more certain that you _are_ holding out on me. But whatever, I get to hurt you either way."

The tire touched Mori's navel. Keldeo pressed down a pedal in front of him, making the tire spin rapidly. He Silenced Mori just as the tire began administering a friction burn.

"Keldeo, sir!" Hearst called as he entered the tire room.

"What is it, Hearst?!" Keldeo demanded. "You know better than to interrupt me when—"

"I know, but this is important! We've lost video footage of the cell Pelame was thrown into!"

"Really? You honestly think losing an easily-replaceable surveillance camera is worth interrupting me over? Did you forget we've had more than one installed per room?!"

"No, sir, but that's the problem! They're all out!"

"Then just do this!" Keldeo led Hearst over to a surveillance monitor in the room and pressed a button labeled "Backup Camera". Video footage of the cell block returned once he did so. And he was very livid at what he saw.

"Get the White Chair ready and place this grovyle on it while I deal with the escapees," he ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Hearst responded. "But are you sure you want to take on Pelame? She can Purify you or even kill you. Remember when she did both to Walton?"

"I AM AWARE OF WHAT HAPPENED TO WALTON! That's why I'm not taking on Pelame alone! Now get to work!"

As his subordinate obeyed his order, Keldeo went on his way to intercept his country's Public Enemy. He stopped for a moment to speak into his Twilit Sigil.

* * *

"Well, I guess that means we've been spotted…" Sickle lamented as the prison's alarm went off.

"Then these Twilit scum are in for a beatdown, Sanjuro-style!" Sanjuro boasted. "Bring it on, you furry glinters!" He got four Water Shurikens ready. As a group of about fifteen furfrou advanced on Pelame and her fellow escapees, one of the furfrou suddenly lashed out at the others with a dark energy whip. Once they were subdued, he addressed Pelame.

"Sorry to have been trouble to you, Pelame," he said to the confused but relieved eevee. "I'll help you get out of this place!"

"Well, about time you realized your army's insanity," Pelame commented.

"Yeah, I don't have much of an excuse to have not seen it. But forget that for now; let's get out of here!"

The five Pokémon advanced up the prison's floors, knocking out every guard they came across. But once Keldeo arrived on the scene, the odds turned.

"Congratulations, Benedict, you've officially thrown your life away," he seethed.

"Oh, blow it out of where the sun adorns you!" Benedict retorted.

"Why am I not surprised the king let a sadistic lunatic like you be the Judge?" Pelame rhetorically asked. "It figures, though. He _did_ need someone with an overwhelming 'guilty no matter what' mindset to fill the part."

"Well, Pelame, for your information, I exist to help rid Pocketurn of unreasonable fools like yourself. Why do you think I earned the title of 'Sword of Justice'?"

"Probably because you're a living blasphemy to the entire concept of justice, just like how your king is a living blasphemy to the entire concept of reason. Honestly, the world really needs less Pokémon like you."

Pelame quickly bound Keldeo's feet with an Alpha Cord, tripping him. Sanjuro made an Alpha Cord of his own to muzzle the Judge. Finally, Pelame placed an Alpha Barrier around his horn to block his Dark Blessing power.

"Alpha Barriers can block the Dark Blessing's abilities?" Benedict asked.

"Yes, they can," Pelame answered. She advanced on the trussed-up Judge and got ready to Purify him. Before she could reach him, a shard of Mortite extended upward from the ground, blocking her.

"My loyal Judge will be keeping his Dark Blessing."

The source of this interruption was the last Pokémon Pelame wanted to encounter at this moment.

"Pelame, I know you're angry at me for a reason that cannot be justified, but even _I_ never imagined you'd murder one of my top soldiers over it."

"Believe me, 'sire', she got off easy compared to what's surely going to happen to _you_," Pelame said viciously to the Twilight King.

"My destiny is to change this world for the better. I have no intention of letting rebels like you or your cohorts interfere with me when I've come this far in achieving it."

"Nuts to your 'world'!" Sanjuro replied, throwing his Water Shurikens at the Twilight King. All four were effortlessly blocked. The King then shot Sanjuro with a Dark Blessing-enhanced Thunder attack, severely damaging him. The King then quickly undid Keldeo's bindings.

"Thanks, sire!" Keldeo said. "You arrived not a moment too soon!"

"I wasn't going to miss any call from you that mentioned a possibility that I could end up losing my best chance to capture Pelame." Mortite erupted from the ground and encased Pelame, trapping her up to her head as it solidified. The same was done to the others traveling with her. "Keldeo, you can do with those others as you wish. I'll escort Pelame somewhere she won't disturb us until I gain the power to dispose of her forever."

"Hey, uh, sire, wanna run that by me again?"

The Twilight King and Keldeo looked over to the door on the other end of the corridor. Pugno stood there, Alpha Power at the ready. He tossed a volley of Aura Spheres enhanced by Alpha Power at his two superiors. This gave Pelame the chance to free herself and her traveling party. In the confusion, she took this chance to escape the room. When she was about to exit, she turned back at the last second.

"Pelame, let me hold these two off," Pugno offered. "Go rescue Mori before he burns to death on the White Chair!"

"Okay, Pugno. But please be careful," Pelame answered. She then went with her fellow escapees to free Mori.

After he saw them off, Pugno turned to face his former superiors, who were no longer there. Concerned, he started following Pelame, thinking they were being followed. As soon as he went through the doorway, he felt something hard hit him in the head, knocking him down. Mortite then bound him to the floor

"After all the time I spent making you one of my finest soldiers," Keldeo growled at his former subordinate. "_This_ is how I am repaid?! With TREASON?!"

"You deserve to be betrayed," Pugno said defiantly. "Pelame will make sure you and the King fail!"

"Not a chance. I spent a lot of time making you a formidable soldier. And you will not betray me. You will help us conquer Pocketurn and bring it to an age of reason, and you will help us get rid of the ignorant ones who would defy us. _That is an order._"

Pugno's head perked up and his expression softened. "Yes, sir," he said with full obedience.

* * *

The White Chair was ready. It was an iron chair heated until it glowed white with its ferocious high temperature. Opening the door to the small chamber the chair was in let out a lot of steam.

"Blame Pelame for this," Hearst taunted. "If she didn't have such senseless bravado, you've have lived longer."

Mori would've made attempts to struggle away from Hearst as he dragged him into the room, but his limbs were broken. Mori was placed onto the chair and strapped into it. A sizzling sound could be heard as soon as Mori's flesh made contact with the white-hot chair. Hearst quickly left the room and shut and locked the door. The room was soundproof, but if sound could escape it, Hearst would definitely had been hearing Mori make the loudest and most pained of muffled screaming. Mori had never experienced such pain in his life. The entire backside of his body was being burned to a crisp and slowly killing him as a result. His tail leaves, arm leaves, and head leaf burned away.

"I'll be certain to show this tape to the Judge," Hearst noted out loud to himself.

"Sorry, but that's a wrap," Sanjuro quipped as he tossed a Water Shuriken at Hearst, fatally goring him in the chest.

"Gosh, Sanjuro, killing him wasn't necessary!" Pelame scolded.

"Says the eevee who committed a colder-blooded murder—"

"I know, I know! But for now, we need to get Mori out of there!" Pelame went over to the White Chair's chamber door and began Tackling it to no avail. "Come on! Help me! We need to save him!"

"'We?'" Sanjuro asked with defiance. "Who exactly is 'we?'"

"Sanjuro, quit fooling around—"

"Hey! I never agreed to help you rescue anyone. You want to save that crispy grovyle, you do it yourself."

"But, Sanjuro—"

"You know, arguing with me just adds another layer of skin being burned off of him. Time's of the essence—"

"Sanjuro, I can't do it without you."

"…pardon?"

"I need your help. Please."

"Well, well, well, you finally realize who the better one of us is. So, why exactly should I help you, huh?"

"Because…I can reward you."

"Hmm… well, as you don't have anything I want, no deal—"

"I have connections with Emperor Kentahito. I could see if I can persuade him to… well, do anything for you."

"Even waive my undeserved prison sentence?"

Pelame sighed. "Yes…"

"All right the, you've got a deal." He then began helping Pelame break open the door to the White Chair's chamber. After a bit of work, Pelame and Sanjuro got the door open. Sanjuro used his Hydro Pump to cool the chair down. He then sliced the chair's cuffs off with his Water Shurikens. "Whoa, has he got a crispy back, or what?"

"Sanjuro, quit joking around! We need to get out of here!"

"I'll say we do!" Blessing agreed.

"So let's get going!" Immolga agreed.

"All right!" Pelame said. "But wait… how'd you two escape?"

"Pugno bailed us out while Hearst's back was turned," Blessing answered. "Now, let's get going already!"

"No one's going anywhere!" the Twilight King announced as he and Keldeo entered the room, encasing everyone in Mortite.

"Pugno…?" Pelame said in shock at the sight of her ex-boyfriend allied with her enemies.

"See how ineffective an individual you are, Pelame?" the King scolded. "This young soldier could've given into your foolish ideals, and therefore paid for them with his life. But he's realized what a mistake he's made listening to you, let alone ever knowing you."

"Why you…!" Pelame's fury at the King was intensifying. She broke herself out of the Mortite. The King immediately Paralyzed her as a side effect of the usage of Thunderbolt on her. From the sidelines, Pugno rushed forth and hit her directly with Close Combat. She collapsed.

"Your rebellion is over, Pelame! Pocketurn is mine!"

All seemed lost. Pugno had turned on his ex-girlfriend once again, and all form of help was nowhere to be found. Pelame tried not to give in to the despair of this hopeless situation.

"Pugno, think about what you're doing," she pleaded. "You know what the King and Keldeo are. You know that their best interests aren't the world's. Please don't help them ruin everything!"

"…Pelame…?" Pugno said, suddenly feeling delirious.

"Pugno, finish those others and knock Pelame out," said the Twilight King. "That is an order."

"Yes, sir," Pugno responded with sudden vigor.

"Pugno, what's happening to you?!"

"I told you, Pelame," the Twilight King answered triumphantly. "He's our servant!" He addressed his servant with another order. "Begin with Pelame, but do not kill her. Kill the others as you wish once you're done with her."

"Yes, sir."

As Pugno advanced on Pelame, the Eon Duo suddenly burst into the room, carrying Pelame's backpack with the Eon Flute in it. They picked her up as well as the others she was with and flew off.

"What in the—!" the Twilight King loudly grumbled.

As the Eon Duo flew toward Daoyin, Pinna watched from a distance, far away from Suzaku City.

_"__Pelame, my dear, please accept that as my apology for being such a blind fool."_

Back in the prison, the Twilight King and Keldeo were in angered disbelief at what just happened.

"We almost had them…" the King silently grumbled.

"Sire, I'll have all available soldiers hunt every inch of this—"

"Don't bother, Keldeo. We're through here for now. We need to pull out and regroup."


	43. Pelame's Charge

Chapter 43 – Pelame's Charge

* * *

After pulling all his forces out of Shizazoto and relocating them to be backup to crush rebellions in territories under Twilit control, the Twilight King was at the opened Twilit Realm Gate, gathering his thoughts.

**"****You wouldn't have been able to rid existence of her, anyway,"** said Unod from within the Twilight King's Request Stone. **"And I'm sure you remember what will happen to you if she dies rather than disappears. You really believe you could've kept her still until the final week of Eleventhmonth?"**

"It would've been better than letting her ruin everything for me," the Twilight King responded defensively. "It's only about two months off."

**"****Your power is strong, but there exists room to grow. Necessity, even. You'd best not fall behind. You could lose your world."**

"Don't worry, World Destroyer. I have it under control."

**"****Hmm…after that shameful performance of yours at Hizeme Prison, I have doubts. I'd say you pulled your forces out of Shizazoto in time."**

"I intend to avenge our loss there."

**"****Good for you. But perhaps you should leave Shizazoto to me. I have an idea."**

* * *

The date was now Tenthmonth 1st. Pelame had made a full recovery from the injuries she sustained in Hizeme Prison and was able to leave the Palace's hospital. As her injuries weren't as severe as the ones sustained by Blessing, Immolga, and especially Mori, she had been in a separate ward. On her way out of the hospital, she gave a longing look at the room labeled "I.C.U."

_"__Mori…"_ she thought in sadness, remembering what happened when she and the others returned from Hizeme Prison.

* * *

_"__MY SON!" Zaki screamed at the top of his lungs upon seeing his son with a gigantic burn going down the back half of his body. He rushed forward to the unconscious grovyle on Latios's back, but Zeki held him back._

_"__Darling, he's uncon—" she attempted to reassure._

_"__MY BOY!" Zaki was in tears at this point. "MY BOY!" He stopped struggling against his wife's grip and collapsed to his knees. "MY SON…!"_

_Emperor Kentahito had been at the front gate observing this._

_"__Enga, take the ones on Latios's back to the hospital," he requested of the ninetales next to him. He turned to the Floatzel next to Enga. "And Gane, take the greninja, pancham, absol, and charizard down to the dungeon."_

_"__WHAT?!" exclaimed the four convicts._

_"__YOU!" Zaki bellowed in rage at Pelame. He lunged at her just as Enga got ready to carry her and the others to the hospital. "YOU PROMISED TO KEEP MY SON SAFE! YOU LYING LITTLE HUSSY! YOU DID THIS TO MY BOY!" He punched Pelame over and over as he said this. Zeki came forward to restrain him. "MY BOY'S ALMOST DEAD BECAUSE OF _YOU!_"_

_"__Mister Zaki… I didn't mean for this to happen—" Pelame tried to defend._

_"__QUIET! YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY SON, AWAY FROM MY FAMILY! FROM NOW ON, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED NEAR US!" Zaki turned to the Emperor. "Make sure you enforce that! Pelame may never see my son again!"_

_"__Mister Takezaki, will all due respect—"_

_"__PELAME IS NOT TO BE NEAR MY SON! THAT'S FINAL!"_

_"__Though I'm skeptical of your wishes, I'll follow them. But I'd like you to let Pelame explain the situation."_

_"__Why should I?"_

_"__Are you refusing an order from your Emperor?" Kentahito asked somewhat menacingly._

_"__Oh, fine, then! Pelame, start talking!"_

_"__Mister Zaki… I didn't mean for this to happen…" Pelame began explaining. "We went investigating the Ghost-type activity, and after solving that problem, we landed right in front of Keldeo's ambush. He captured us and took us to Hizeme Prison, intending to torture us for information about the…" Pelame stopped herself before revealing anything important. "…that would help him win the war for the Twilight King. I teamed up with those convicts being led away to save your son, but he was already on the White Chair. We saved him before he could die, but he lost consciousness from the pain. Zaki, please believe me when I say I wish I could have saved him sooner. I'm so sorry." Pelame's voice quivered until she began to cry. "I'm sorry, Mister Zaki…"_

_"__Stay away from my son. Is there a separate ward in the hospital Pelame can be placed in?"_

_"__There is," Kentahito answered. "Her injuries aren't as serious as everyone else's. They all need special care, though."_

* * *

Pelame sneaked a peek through the window of the door and saw Mori lying down in a tank full of water. He was lying on his stomach. A breathing mask was on his face to prevent him from drowning. Pelame assumed the water was meant to treat the burn on his back. She wanted very desperately to go inside to offer what little comfort to him she could, but she obeyed Zaki's wishes and went the other way. She left the hospital wing and went straight to the Emperor's throne room.

"Oh, you've recovered," Zaki said disdainfully. "Good to see you're obeying my wishes."

"Hello, Mister Zaki," Pelame greeted. "Yes, I stayed away from Mori. But Mister Zaki, please understand it hurts me as much as it hurts you knowing that Mori's still unconscious and hurt."

"Yes, and remember whose fault _that_ was. Just do us a favor and keep on staying away from him. I'll see to his recovery."

"Yes, Mister Zaki…"

"I'm going over to Suzaku City to pick up some medicinal plants from Celebi's Forest. Don't you follow me."

"I won't…"

"Good." Zaki went on his way, as did Pelame. She went to the Northern Palace to meet with the Emperor in his throne room. She knocked on the gigantic door.

"Enter," the Emperor ordered. Pelame did so, shut the door behind herself, and bowed.

"I'm relieved to see you have recovered, Pelame," Emperor Kentahito complimented. "Have you seen your mother yet?"

"Not yet, sire," Pelame answered.

"I see. Go see her next after we're done here. She has something for you."

"I will, sire."

"Now then, onto business: the Twilit Army has completely retreated from this country. Ordinarily, I'd be relieved about this, but knowing the strategic mind of the Twilight King, this could mean trouble. And even though they're gone for whatever reason, there are still Demon-types, Ghost-types, and the country's normal criminals to deal with. Remain vigilant at all times. And speaking of criminals, I'd like you to come with me down to the dungeon."

"What for?"

"You'll see. I'm not placing you there, so don't worry. After Hizeme Prison, I think you've had enough of prisons and dungeons. As for that awful place, I've sent a bunch of my soldiers to burn it to the ground. It can never be used again. Now then, please follow me."

* * *

Sanjuro remained alone in his cell in the underground dungeon, seething. He stared at a crude drawing of Pelame that he chiseled into the wall with a nearby rock, glaring at it. He'd fatigued his knuckles by punching it, so he was content to just glare at it. The monotony was broken when Emperor Kentahito entered with Pelame in tow. At the sight of her, his anger rose to a fever pitch, causing him to lunge in her direction. Even if the ball and chain on his feet hadn't held him back, the bars would've stopped him.

"BACKSTABBER!" he yelled.

Neither the Emperor nor Pelame flinched. Instead, they found themselves amused at the greninja's senseless fury and futile attempts to attack. The Inopsite cuffs on his hands rendered him unable to use his Moves.

"Calm yourself, Sanjuro," Kentahito gently commanded.

"We had a deal, Pelame! You said you'd make the Emperor free me!"

"Sanjuro, I don't know how you expect me to believe such a ridiculous alibi—"

"Actually, sire, I _did_ promise him that I'd try to persuade you to free him," Pelame confessed.

"I'm aware of that, Pelame. I heard it from the others when I assigned community service to them. It's Sanjuro's turn now."

"Let me guess: I'm gonna be a palace servant like the others?"

"No, actually, I'm freeing you."

"WHAT?" Pelame said incredulously at the same time Sanjuro joyfully shouted "YES!".

"On one condition, though." Kentahito opened the cell and unchained Sanjuro from the ball and chain. "Follow me."

The Emperor led the two Pokémon to the arena he had previously used to train Pelame in.

"Sanjuro, if you want to be free of all charges and roam as a free Pokémon…" the Emperor set up a giant rectangular Alpha Barrier around the battlefield portion of the arena. He then undid the Inopsite cuffs. "Defeat Pelame in battle."

"Ohh ho ho, yes! Sire, you might as well free me now, because there's no possible way I can lose to her!" Sanjuro boasted. "Unlike her, I'm not afraid to unleash my full power, Alpha or otherwise!"

"Then prove it. I'm sure you'd love to prove your power, especially in front of the spectators I invited to watch this match."

On the sidelines sat Neve, Treasure and Sickle.

"Pelame, sweetie, you can do it!" Neve cheered.

"We're rooting for you!" Treasure added.

Sickle shrugged, not choosing a side.

"This battle will be under Sport Rules: four Moves for each of you. First one knocked out of the ring or first one unable to get back up after ten seconds loses the match. And Sanjuro, if you lose, well, you'll see."

"I guess that'll be a mystery, because I'm gonna polish this arena with Pelame's pretentious butt!"

"Oh, goodness, will that be hilarious to see you fail to do," Pelame retorted. "You're on, Sanjuro."

"Choose your moves, then," Kentahito said. "And keep in mind, Alpha Moves count toward the quota." The two combatants did so, one at a time so as not to make their chosen moves visible to each other. They then took their spots on the battlefield, ready to fight.

"The Alpha Barrier I've placed around the battlefield will keep your attacks from harming anyone. They'll disappear upon contact with it. But that's projectile attacks only. Pokémon themselves can pass through it, so it will be possible to lose by going out of bounds. Now, let the battle begin!"

Sanjuro began by tossing a Water Shuriken at Pelame, who blocked it with an Alpha Barrier. It reflected his attack back at him. He dodged it as it flew harmlessly into the Alpha Barrier around the arena. He was then hit by Pelame's Swift attack, and a quick Alpha Orb after that. Sanjuro fired off an Ice Beam, hitting the floor and freezing it. Pelame skillfully adapted to it by skating on it.

"Hey mom! Reminds me of old times!" she called out to Neve. Focusing back on the battle, she skated circles around Sanjuro, who had slipped on the ice and fallen onto all fours trying to catch up to his opponent. She created an Alpha Cord and used it to tie Sanjuro's hands and feet together, sending him to the ground rear-first.

"Looks like you'll be butt-polishing the arena after all, huh?" she taunted.

"Oh, shut up!" Sanjuro demanded.

"Better get to work, then. Don't want to miss a single spot, do you?"

Pelame grabbed him with another Alpha Cord and dragged him around the frozen arena. She blocked a Hydro Pump he tried to hit her with. She then spun him around and then let go, sending him sliding out of the arena and into the bleachers. He landed head-first into the gaps below the steps on the row the only spectators were seated at, putting his rear right in between where Neve and Sickle were seated. Everyone in the room couldn't help but laugh. Kentahito kept his laughter only at a light chuckle.

"Sanjuro has been knocked out of the ring," he announced. "Pelame is the victor!" The Alpha Barrier around the arena disappeared. "That was a very fine battle you fought, Pelame. Quite ingenious, using Sanjuro's hasty misfired Ice Beam against him. And I must admit, it was very funny watching him slide around on the ice."

"Oh, ha ha!" Sanjuro complained. "Pelame, you wouldn't have won if we were fighting for real!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Neve said to the greninja struggling to get untangled from the bleachers. "My daughter utterly kicked your butt and polished the arena with it."

Sickle was already laughing rather hard at the battle, but Neve's quip made him laugh even harder.

"Now then, the terms of this battle have to be addressed. Sanjuro, your freedom was on the line for this battle. Since you lost, you will not be exonerated for your crimes. But here is what I have decided to do in the event of you losing: first off, I'm shortening your sentence by two weeks—"

"For helping save a Pokémon?!"

"…secondly, you will serve the remainder of your sentence under Pelame's Custody."

The Emperor placed a special kind of Alpha Power on Pelame and Sanjuro.

"I have just now placed you in Pelame's Custody. For the rest of your three-month sentence, you will be following her rules."

"Oh, neat!" Pelame said excitedly.

"She will decide those rules. Everything from how far away from her you can go to what you'll be allowed to do. In other words, she is in charge of you, Sanjuro."

"Like Suffering, she is!" Sanjuro retorted. "No one's in charge of me!"

"Says the greninja who's waving his butt around in a hilarious attempt to escape some bleachers," Pelame teased. "Some tough guy you are, getting stuck in bleachers. Maybe we should just leave you here, because this is really fun to watch."

"If only Blessing were here to see this," Treasure noted. "I hope this is getting caught on the Palace's surveillance so I can show her that."

"It is," Kentahito answered.

"Neat."

"And honestly, Sanjuro, you might find this a life-changing experience. Pelame is a very wise young woman, and any Pokémon should consider themselves blessed to know her. You could learn many things from her."

"Yeah, because I _totally_ want to learn to be a stuck-up idealist!"

Pelame approached Sanjuro and used an Alpha Cord to pull him out of the bleachers.

"I don't remember asking for your help!"

"Oh, how awful. You were doing so fine with escaping the bleachers…" Pelame answered sarcastically as she undid the cords tying him up. "By the way, while I'm in the Palace, you can't leave its grounds."

"Well, I'll just stay down here and train, then. You and I will have a rematch one day, and I will not lose to you!"

"Whatever. Just don't break anything."

As Pelame left with everyone to leave Sanjuro to his business, she couldn't help but ask.

"Sire, did you really mean that?"

"Mean what?" Emperor Kentahito asked for clarification.

"What you told Sanjuro about me?"

"Certainly. You've done lots of growing up since you started staying here. I have no problems taking back everything I said about you being foolish."

"Thanks, sire."

"No problem at all, Pelame. And if you wish, just call me 'Kenta'. Now then, I have a lot of business to take care of. You and I will train in my free time. Until then, just do what you wish."

"Yes, sire." The Emperor went off to his duties while Pelame went to see her mother, who led her to her room. "The Emperor told me you had something for me."

"Yes, I do," Neve answered. "I found it in your backpack. It's a letter."

She gave the letter to her daughter.

_"__Dear Pelame,  
If you're reading this, the Eon Duo has gotten you and your friends safely back to the Palace, as I requested of them. Let's not beat around the bush: yes, I agreed once with the Twilight King's ambitions. I also believed the world needed fixing. I still do, actually, but what the King is doing sure isn't fixing the world. You were right, sweetie, he's breaking it further. I'm no longer part of his military. I'm out scouring the country, trying to remove the damage done here by the Twilit Army (which includes myself, of course). Please don't look for me. I'll re-join you eventually, if you'll have me. At that time, I'll accept any punishment you give me. For now, though, I hope you'll accept this favor. I love you, Pelame._

_Love,  
Pinna_

_P.S.: If anyone else finds this letter first, please pass it on to Pelame. And if that 'anyone else' is Neve, then, darling, I'm sorry for betraying you, too."_

"Good to see he's regained some sense," Pelame said with skepticism. "Don't know if I can trust him, though."

"I understand, dear. I'm not as angry at him as you are, but I'll be sure to give him a piece of my mind if and when he returns."

"Yeah, that'll be good. But I'll admit, I'm grateful to him for sending the Eon Duo to save us when we were cornered. He's got his foot in the door to me at least respecting him again."

* * *

Later that night, Zaki left the hospital ICU where Mori was being treated.

"I'm so sorry, my boy…" he lamented.

"What is it?" Zeki asked, joining her husband.

"I went to Celebi's Forest to get some Blue Bannouyaku flowers, but they all got burned down. Now Mori will never recover, and it's all my fault!"

"No, dear, it's not. You did your best. We just have to trust the doctors now. Mori's in good hands."

"I know, dear, but still…"

"He'll be fine. He just needs rest."

Zaki nodded sadly and sat in the waiting room of the hospital wing.

"You'll be sleeping here tonight again?" Zeki asked.

"Yeah," Zaki answered.

"Good night, dear." Zeki left to her room. Along the way, she encountered Pelame.

"Oh! Miss Zeki!" Pelame exclaimed.

"Hello there, Pelame!" Zeki greeted. "How have you been? I heard you humiliated a criminal in front of His Majesty today."

"Yeah. That was satisfying. So, how've you been? Is Mori any better?"

"A little bit. Poor Zaki, though… he's worried absolutely sick."

"I don't blame him. Though I wish he'd let me see Mori."

"For now, let's just wait."

"Was Zaki always this protective of Mori?"

"Oh, yes. And there's actually a good reason for that." Zeki pointed to the pink stripe on her stomach. "Look closely."

Pelame squinted and leaned in close, her nose nearly touching the sceptile's belly.

"Is that…?"

"Yes, I had a Ditto Section done on me."

"Oh… so, the sceptile and nuzleaf species aren't compatible for child conception?"

"Nope. And as a result, the egg grew too big for me to lay. And my body's inevitable attempt to caused my uterus to rupture, and I lost so much blood that I fainted. Zaki got me to the hospital while I was unconscious, and that was when the doctors did the operation, saving both me and the egg. The egg had taken some damage from my body trying to lay it, though, which added time to it hatching. But basically, Mori almost wasn't born, which is why Zaki always wants to protect us."

"Goodness… you and Mori being that close to death before he was even born… poor Zaki."

"Mori and I both owe our lives to him."

"You sure do. And I'm happy it all turned out fine. Pocketurn gained an amazing Pokémon that day."

"Aww… Pelame, that's so sweet of you. Mori really means a lot to you, huh?"

"He sure does."

* * *

Over the course of the next week, training was the only thing on the schedule. Sanjuro spent all his time doing so, as did Pelame, Neve, and Princess Jurihito. Big battles would be coming up, so now was the time to prepare. However, Pelame couldn't help but feel it was getting monotonous. So, on Tenthmonth 8th, she decided on something.

"The Daoyinza, huh?" Neve said. "With Sanjuro?"

"I can't help that," Pelame said. "But I'll keep him under control."

"I trust you can. I'd like to come along, though. I haven't been to the Daoyinza in such a long time."

"I'd love to have you with me, mom. I'll go get Sanjuro, and we'll go."

"Where's he at?"

"Training? Where else?"

Pelame found Sanjuro training in an arena separate from the one she was using. She could swear Sanjuro built it himself.

"What do you want?!" he demanded. "Can't you see I'm training?"

"Training? So filling up a giant water tank is your new training exercise?"

"Well, I'm going to turn this water tank into the best training room ever made. It's gonna make that sorry one you're using seem like a public restroom in comparison."

"I see. Then I guess you can go pick up some supplies for this project of yours. My mom and I are going to the Daoyinza, and per your Custody, you're coming with us."

"Urgh… fine."

"But first, go shower. I could smell your hideous body odor from outside! I mean, what, did you fill that tank with sewer water?! And furthermore, where did you get that tank?"

"Easy. I had Immolga weld it for me with his Flamethrower. You can ask him if you think I'm lying."

"That I will, while you're showering. Get to it."

"Well, seeing as how Kentahito put you in charge of me, I guess I have no choice. Hope you're in the mood to wait a while. Also, direct me to a bathroom, because I'm not as meticulous about the Palace's map as you are."

"All right. Follow me."

* * *

Enga and Gane were at the Palace's front gate, patrolling along with the other guards, most of which were vulpix.

"You know, what can even get in here anymore?" complained one of the guards. "His Majesty placed an Alpha Barrier around the Palace grounds with Pelame's help, so what are we worried about?"

"Well, we still have a job to do," Enga responded. "The Barrier helps, but we're not out of a job. Besides, there are some good Pokémon that need to get in here."

"Speaking of Pokémon getting in here," Gane interjected. "One's at the gate now."

Enga went over to the watchtower to take a look.

"A muzzled furfrou…?" Enga said in a tone that contained skepticism and bemusement. "And he's naked, too."

"Never saw a furfrou with no fur. Does that make him just a 'frou'?" Gane joked.

"Let's cut the joking out and get the Emperor." Enga went over to the watchtower's communication panel and contacted the throne room. "Sire, there's a naked furfrou at the gate. Shall I let him in?"

"Not yet," the Emperor answered. "I'll be there soon."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

The Emperor's arrival at the front gate was prompt. Enga and Gane flanked him as they greeted the stranger.

"Greetings to you," the Emperor said. "State your business."

"Ffire, my name iff Benedict," the naked and muzzled furfrou stated. "I'm ngere to ffurrender myfelf to you. I've defferted the Twilit Army."

"I see. Enga, Gane, Place him in the dungeon. I'll see to him when I can." The Emperor opened a small hole in the Barrier, big enough to let Benedict in.

"Yes, sire," Enga and Gane responded. They cuffed Benedict and brought him into the Palace. The Barrier closed itself once he entered.

"Ivv vere a lab mhere?"

"Yes, there is," Enga answered.

"Good. Becauffe I wanft to volunfeer myffelf to be fftudied."

"Well, work that out with the Emperor."

* * *

"All right, I'm clean, fresh, and relieved. Can we go now?" Sanjuro complained after leaving the bathroom.

"You urinated in the shower, didn't you?" Pelame scolded.

"So what if I did? I saved a lot of water by doing so. And besides, it still goes down a drain, anyway—"

"I'm gonna stop you right there before you make me vomit. Ready, mom?"

"Ready, dear."

One bus ride to the south later, and the three of them arrived at the Daoyinza.

"Looking to burn holes in your purse, eh?" Sanjuro jabbed.

"And what will _you_ be buying, pray tell?" Pelame shot back.

"Training stuff! You know, stuff that _actually_ matters!"

"Well, here's some money for that." Pelame gave Sanjuro 100 Pokéns. "Remember: due to custody, you can't leave the building."

"Really didn't think that through, did you? Giving me privilege to roam a seven-story building with hundreds of stores in it, including every department store chain in the world. Try to police me now!"

"Oh, I'll know if you cause trouble. You don't cover your tracks well."

"Yeah, whatever." Sanjuro was off immediately.

"So, where do you want to go first, mom?"

"Oh, anywhere will be fine," Neve answered.

"Actually, the best place to go would be as far away from here as possible," Kasumi interjected as she walked by.

"Why's that?" Pelame asked.

"Ghost-types and Demon-types hang out here often. Items have disappeared from stores, Pokémon have been abducted, all kinds of weirdness. You'd best leave until something's done about it."

"With all due respect," Neve said. "My daughter and I can handle some danger."

"Yes. I suppose so. Still, be careful." Kasumi left to continue investigations elsewhere. Pelame and Neve then began exploring stores.

* * *

After only one hour of shopping, Pelame and Neve had bought more than they could carry. The two stopped to eat at the food court on the fifth floor, and it was there that Kasumi's warning began to make sense. They overheard a meditite grumbling, and in his rambles, he happened to mention a rude shiny greninja.

"Excuse me, sir," Pelame asked. "But did this greninja have…" she lifted up her neck fur to show her Alpha Sigil. "…this symbol on the base of his tongue?"

"I caught a glimpse of something that shape, yes. Do you know him?"

"Unfortunately, yes. What did he do?"

"Well, he kicked down the stall door and practically yanked me off the toilet just as I was ready to sit on it. I lucked out when the weavile in the stall next door left. But that greninja yanking me off the toilet like that…where'd he get such gall?!"

"Sorry to hear that, sir."

"Well, I sure hope something'll be done about him. He didn't even unlock the stall door after he was done using it. And in fact, I don't even think he flushed the toilet after he used it. He just disappeared without a trace. His items are still in there, too."

"What?!"

At that, Pelame and Neve were off to the restroom, disregarding that they were not the proper gender to enter it. Indeed, the stall was locked. Pelame crawled under the door and undid the lock. She dared not look in the toilet, opting to immediately flush it. And as the meditate in the food court had said, Sanjuro's items were indeed still there. And then, Pelame's Alpha Sigil went off.

"Did he just try to leave the building?" Pelame asked.

"No idea, Pelame," Neve answered. "Why do you ask?"

"I just felt a signal from my Alpha Sigil. I guess it's telling me he tried to go out of bounds. Though why would he leave all this training stuff here? He seemed really obsessive over it. He wouldn't just…" Then Pelame came to a conclusion. "A haunting…"

"You mean, a Ghost-type abducted him?" Neve asked for clarification.

"I think so. Let's go find him."

* * *

"Well, I don't know how you're doing it, but it seems that I can't leave this building with you in tow," said a Ghost-type Pokémon that had a bound and gagged Sanjuro in his clutches. This phantom appeared to have a pumpkin for a lower body. "No problem. There's a basement I can use." The spectral Pokémon sunk through the floor, taking Sanjuro with him. Pelame had caught sight of the last few moments of this.

"Mom, I found him!" she called out to her mother. "He was right here!"

"But where is he now?" Neve asked.

"He must be in the basement. I just saw a Ghost-type Pokémon drag him down into the floor. I couldn't get a good look at the culprit."

"I'm sure we'll see him once we corner him."

"You're right. Let's go."

Pelame and her mother went down to the basement of the Daoyinza. There, Pelame was immediately hit with a sense of unpleasant unfamiliarity once she saw a random staircase appear.

"Oh no…" she said fearfully. "We're in a Mystery Dungeon."

"We are? What are they like?" Neve asked.

"Well, we're going to see. Sometimes, Mystery Dungeons are easy to navigate, sometimes they're not. They keep changing their own rules, basically. Like right now." She said this to note the fact that the stairs disappeared. Suddenly, they reappeared, but in a different spot. Then it vanished again. And reappeared again. When it reappeared, it did so right under Pelame's feet, warping her and her mother to the next floor.

"Wait a minute. The Daoyinza has only one basement level."

"Yes, it does. We're still technically there. It's just that this Mystery Dungeon is messing with it."

Like the previous floor, this room's only challenge was a staircase that kept switching locations. It moved a lot faster than the previous one, however, presenting more of a challenge.

"Let's spread out and ambush it," Pelame suggested.

"Good idea," Neve concurred.

The plan took a minute to work, but it got them to the next floor. The basement resumed its usual appearance of storage boxes and crates everywhere. The two Pokémon split up to explore the area. It was Pelame who ended up finding Sanjuro first. He was struggling to get free from his bindings. As soon as he saw Pelame, his struggles intensified.

"Sheesh, Mister 'I'm-the-best-Alpha-ever,' some power display there," Pelame quipped as she approached him to untie him. He shifted himself away, trying to avoid her.

"Get away from my new bag."

Out of nowhere came the culprit.

"You're a gourgeist," Pelame noted. "What do you want with Sanjuro? And what do you mean by 'new bag?'"

"Well, obviously, that's what I'm turning him into once I kill him. Can't really skin him while he's living, now can I? It's be harder to do. Besides, I like the rougher feel of a dead body."

"Well, sorry to crush your dreams, but you're not getting any bag out of him."

The gourgeist then pulled out two guns, pointing one at Sanjuro and the other at Pelame. She instantly cowered.

"Don'tshootme," she squealed.

"Back off, and I won't shoot you. As for this guy here, well, no such luck."

Suddenly, the gourgeist was hit with an Ice Beam. Neve had caught up to her daughter at last. The attack caused the gourgeist to drop his weapons, giving Pelame the chance to trap him in a spherical Alpha Barrier. After doing that, she untied Sanjuro and removed the Aspear Scarf gagging him.

"Did you not see how well I was doing escaping on my own?!" he demanded.

"I sure did," Pelame sarcastically answered. "You were doing an amazing job just wriggling around in the corner there and shouting muffled words."

"Oh, yes, because you sure were cowering impressively in front of the barrel of that freak's gun!"

In Pelame's fury at that remark, she hadn't noticed that her Alpha Barrier had faded, allowing the gourgeist to escape. The three left the Daoyinza soon after. On the way to the bus stop, Pelame caught sight of something very unnerving. The fountain at the Daoyinza's front gate had Mortite growing on it. Going closer to get a look at it, she could swear she saw an eyeball with only pupils and a dark purple sclera open on its surface. It made eye contact with her.


	44. Expanding Mortite

Chapter 44 – Expanding Mortite

* * *

Though it had been a week since Pelame saw that strange sight at the Daoyinza, she couldn't put it out of her mind no matter how hard she tried to.

"Pelame, focus!" Emperor Kentahito advised when he noticed his pupil was distracted during training.

"Sorry, sire…" Pelame responded with regret.

"The eye, right?"

"…yes, sire…"

"I see. Seeing such a thing would've unnerved me, too. Do you want to stop for now?"

"I guess that'd be best. Sorry, sire."

"Oh, no problem at all. It's best that you refresh yourself. It'll do no good to have so many preoccupations."

With that, the Emperor and Pelame bid each other farewell for the training session. On her way to her room, she saw a lot of the Palace guards gathered around a TV. Giving in to curiosity, she joined them and saw that they were watching a news report from Wattkins.

* * *

_"__I'm reporting live from the entrance to the Daoyinza, where a startling incident has taken place," Wattkins said. "Many loyal shoppers have reported seeing an eyeball on this dark crystal that has engulfed the fixture on this fountain. And even more startling still, these Pokémon here have somehow also been engulfed by this strange material."_

_Wattkins turned to the Pokémon petrified in Mortite, signaling the camera's operator to get them in the shot. There was a rapidash, a grumpig, a petilil, and a nidorina, all frozen in Mortite._

_"__Eyewitness accounts are saying that this happened to these Pokémon upon making eye contact with the eyeball in question."_

* * *

_"__But then, why did that not happen to me?"_ Pelame wondered.

* * *

_"__It has been advised to all shoppers that the fountain is no longer to be made eye contact with. It is unknown why this is happening, although there is speculation that the often-mentioned "Dark Blessing" has to do with it. Just the same, everyone must be cautious."_

* * *

Sanjuro was completely submerged in water, per his self-imposed training. With heavy weights attached to his wrists and ankles, he practiced throwing Water Shurikens at a crude figure of Pelame. As a Water-type Pokémon, he had more than enough air in his lungs for his regimen. During practice, a red light suddenly began flashing.

_"__What does she want now?!"_ he complained in his mind, having a hunch about who was disturbing him. He removed his weights and swam up near the top of the watery room. He opened the door located there and entered through it into a small corridor. When the door behind him shut, the water drained out. After that, the door opposite the one he entered from opened. As he suspected, Pelame was there pressing the "call" button on the door frame.

"Let me guess: another shopping trip?" he said curtly.

"Probably," Pelame answered. "But first, something more important came up. I'm leaving the Palace, so you're coming with me."

"You know, if I don't leave the Palace, you can't, either. So, not a chance."

"Well, okay then." Pelame left Sanjuro to his training. As soon as she left the Palace grounds, Sanjuro suddenly appeared next to her. He was dripping wet.

"Why you little—"

"I told you you were coming with me. And I checked with the Emperor, by the way. From now on, you'll be teleported to where I am whenever I leave an area ahead of you. That way, you'll be with me at all times. And look at it this way: it could save you from dire situations. Suppose another Ghost-type abducts you."

"That was dumb luck on that gourgeist's part, and you know it!"

"Oh, and also, Sanjuro, while we're out in public, keep your big tongue in your mouth."

"Okay. And _you_ stop having your tail be visible all the time. Where are you dragging me, anyway?"

"The Daoyinza. Something awful happened there."

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing I'm coming along. You'll need a perfect and amazing Pokémon like myself to solve whatever's going on there."

"Well, then get your 'perfect and amazing' self onto the bus then. It's just arrived, and it's about to leave."

The two Pokémon boarded the bus to the Daoyinza. When Pelame took her seat, she felt something slimy and wet. At the same time, Sanjuro felt something soft and furry. Soon, realization hit them.

"EUUCKK!" they both shouted, coughing and sputtering.

"YOU SAT ON MY TONGUE!" Sanjuro shouted.

"YOU PUT YOUR TONGUE ON MY SEAT!" Pelame countered.

"Watch where you're sitting! Now I've got the taste of your butt on my tongue!"

"Watch where you put your tongue! Now I've got your spit on my rear end! I told you to keep your tongue in your mouth!"

"Should've told me sooner!"

"I DID!"

Sanjuro retracted his entire tongue into his mouth. He leaned out the window to spit out what he was tasting. While he had his head out the window, the bus went over a small bump, making him hit his head on the window frame. Looking down, he saw a black crystallization on the ground. He pulled his head back into the bus just as it came to a sudden stop, sending him and Pelame careening forward due to them not being properly seated. She slightly cushioned the impact with a timely Alpha Barrier.

"Oof… you did thad on burbose…" Sanjuro nasally complained as he rubbed his nose.

He followed Pelame and the other passengers off of the bus. While the other passengers went to another bus stop to board another bus, Pelame and Sanjuro went straight to the Daoyinza. Most of it was covered in Mortite.

"Wow, Pelame," Sanjuro commented. "How'd you overlook this?"

Pelame didn't respond. She took notice of all the Pokémon who had been turned into Mortite.

"They all looked into that dark eye…" Pelame guessed, horrified. As she surveyed the horizons, she took notice of a Ghost-type Pokémon. _"It's a trevenant."_ She approached the ghostly tree Pokémon. "Excuse me—"

"Hm?" As soon as he noticed Pelame, he ran off in fear. The other ghosts nearby did the same.

"IT'S NIHILDA!" one of the scared ghosts screamed.

"Nihilda?" Pelame wondered. "Well… at least they're safe from those dark eyes."

"Dark eyes?" Sanjuro asked. "Is that what you're scaring those ghosts with?"

"No, Sanjuro, as my eyes aren't dark. And if you see any of those dark eyes, don't look directly into it, or you'll turn into a Mortite statue."

"An awesome Pokémon like me, becoming Mortite? Not a chance!"

**"****Is that a challenge?"**

Pelame stopped dead in her tracks in fear. A dark eye opened up on the wall near her.

"Seriously, Pelame? You fear _eyeballs_ now?"

"DON'T LOOK AT IT!" Pelame screamed in fear, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Eyeballs can't hurt! At least not an awesome Pokémon like me! See?" Sanjuro turned around, baring his behind at the dark eye and waving it at it. "You see this, purple eye? Take it aaaaaaaaalllllll in!" He turned and looked at the eye. "You enjoying this sight, you f—"

Pelame opened her eyes as soon as she heard Sanjuro's taunts suddenly stop. Before her stood the shiny greninja with his behind turned to the dark eye, taunting it. He was frozen in Mortite, stuck in that exact pose.

**"****Looks like he lost his own challenge."**

Pelame shut her eyes again when she saw the purple eye.

**"****Nobody can resist making eye contact with me, can they?"**

"TURN THEM ALL BACK!" she screamed at the eye in total terror. Her heart was racing.

**"****And here I thought you'd try that yourself. Though good luck clearing it all out."**

Pelame turned away from the dark eye and opened her own eyes, coming face-to-face with another dark eye.

"AAHHH! DON'T TURN ME INTO MORTITE!" At this point, tears were beginning to come out of her eyes.

**"****Why not? Don't you want to join them all? You don't want to ease their pain?"**

"STOP IT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Reflexively, she activated her Alpha Power and freed Sanjuro.

"Ooooff… that hurt…"

"SANJURO, WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Pelame ran off in fear. When she reached the fountain, she attempted to free one of the shoppers. Once she did, the Mortite engulfed the victim once more.

**"****You acted too late, Pelame. These Pokémon are mine now."**

"…no…" Unable to take any more of this, Pelame ran off. Sanjuro followed along, having no alternative but to.

* * *

_"__The strange dark crystals have covered nearly all of the Daoyinza," _Wattkins reported on the TV. _"And it has now begun to cover more areas of Shizazoto's Capital. More dark eyeballs have been reported, along with more petrified Pokémon. The origin of this strange phenomenon is still unknown—"_

Pelame and Sanjuro ran by. Pelame took a brief moment to attach an Alpha Cord to Wattkins and the dunsparce holding the camera, dragging them along. This all got caught on camera.

_"__Excuse me, madam, but this is an official broadcast,"_ Wattkins reprimanded.

_"__I'm sorry, but you and your camera operator need to get away from here!"_ Pelame pleaded. _"Anyone who looks into those dark eyes turns into Mortite!"_

_"__Except you, apparently,"_ Sanjuro noted.

_"__Where are we going, then?"_ Wattkins asked.

_"__The Palace! It's the only safe place!"_ Pelame answered.

_"__Then let's resume the broadcast from there. Lenny, cut the camera."_

_"__All right,"_ answered the dunsparce.

_"__We will resume the broadcast later, folks. Now back to your regular broadcast."_

Blessing and Treasure had been watching reruns of "Denkidako City Council" together in the hospital wing when this broadcast had started. The show began again as soon as Wattkins cut his camera.

"What's the world coming to?" Blessing wondered out loud in frustration.

"Whoa, calm down!" Treasure reprimanded. "You'll hurt yourself!"

"Eh, I'm getting out of here tomorrow, anyway. My butt's finally okay again, thank goodness. Sheesh, sometimes I think the world has it out for my butt. With my luck, _it's_ going to be frozen in Mortite next."

"This is just crazy… the Dark Blessing is—"

"Oh, if only that crazy Twilight King didn't release the World Destroyer!" the little sableye complained.

"It'll be all right, little guy," Treasure comforted. "Pelame and the rest of us will push it back somehow."

"We always find a way to, after all," Blessing added. "Can't wait until tomorrow, when I can actually be a part of the action again. And, of course, for my butt to not overreact to pain."

"Hey, Blessing, darling, I don't have a problem with you being so proud of your body. But would it be okay to ask why that is?"

"What's to tell? I just like how I look."

"I know, but how did that start?"

"Oh, you want the _full_ story. Well, time for someone other than my mother to know this story, which dates all the way back to my first time in jail. It was before I even had my name."

* * *

_"__Yeah? Well, you're all just jealous mine looks so much better and sexier than yours!" the sneasel with the big hips retorted angrily to a bunch of young inmates who were laughing at her figure. That night, when she had to return to her cell, she cried herself to sleep._

* * *

"Wait a minute, wait a minute. You _hated_ your figure once?" Treasure asked incredulously.

"Yep," Blessing answered. "And as you can tell, those feelings didn't last long."

* * *

_"__Ah, if it isn't the thermier with the balloon in her butt!" teased a tepig._

_The nameless sneasel let the insult slide. She took her seat in the Juvenile Hall's schoolroom._

_"__Hey look! She fits in her chair!"_

_She ignored that one, too._

* * *

"Wow, you even managed to ignore a slur against your Ice-typing." Treasure said, impressed. "So, the pride in your body began…when?"

"I just got to that part," Blessing answered. "It was soon after they stopped jabbing at me with words. Instead, they did it physically."

* * *

_"__Still not feeling anything, weakling!" the nameless sneasel gloated at the machop who was kicking her in the bottom. "Is that really the best you can do?"_

_"__Of course… it is…and of course…you're feelin' it…" the machop bully said between gasps and panting. One more kick to the sneasel's big bottom, and he fell over, out of breath. His two fellow machop cronies who had the sneasel held in place for kicking were unsure of what to do once their ringleader fell over, so they let her go and ran off._

_"__Heh heh heh heh… so much for the strongest bully in this facility," the nameless sneasel taunted. She picked him up and then hit him with her rear, sending him sprawling to the ground. Many of the other inmates caught sight of this and cheered._

* * *

"Even though it was indirect, everyone still counted it as my victory over that guy," Blessing reminisced. "Until then, he was the biggest bully of that facility. After that, _I_ became the feared one, a reputation I changed. As soon as it did, they considered me the sexy one, upon seeing how much the inmates would ogle me."

"I see," Treasure responded. "That was a pretty short story, but a sweet one nonetheless. But I do have to say it's better you did that in a juvenile detention center. You know that that would've gone a lot worse for you in a jail full of adults."

"I've been in a jail for adults. And though the worst never happened to me, I did come very close to falling victim to it."

"Thank goodness for that."

"What do you mean by 'the worst'?" the sableye asked.

"Never mind, kid," Blessing answered. "Let's just say certain Mortals do really awful and disgusting things, and I was in a place where lots of those disgusting Pokémon were."

"Oh. I hope they weren't as bad as Nihilda."

"Who?"

"Nihilda. She was…"

The little sableye trailed off.

"She was what?"

"I don't know. I just remembered her name, but I don't know anything else about her. But for some reason, I'm scared to think about her. It's weird, because I feel the same fear when I think of Unod the World Destroyer."

* * *

Pelame, Sanjuro, Wattkins, and Lenny had made it back to the Palace's safe grounds. Upon hearing Pelame's full explanation of the Dark Blessing and the events it's caused, Wattkins wrote it all down in his notebook. Pelame had made sure not to mention the Realm Gate.

"Gosh, this is craziness…" Wattkins commented. "My team and I work for every news organization on Pocketurn. I hope at least one of them will accept all this and let me run a story about it. The world has to know this."

"Why pitch it to a dumb news organization?" Sanjuro asked. "Just broadcast it yourself if it's that important."

Pelame looked back at Sanjuro in astonishment.

"'No way, Sanjuro!'" Sanjuro said, mocking Pelame. "'That's a bad idea, Sanjuro!'"

"No, Sanjuro," Pelame responded. "I'm just amazed that, for once, a brilliant idea came out of your mouth."

"Good to see you recognize another part of what makes me awesome: my brilliant ideas."

"Well, I'm not ashamed to admit that this time, you came up with something good. Well done, Sanjuro." Pelame resumed speaking to Wattkins. "I agree with Sanjuro. You ought to just broadcast this yourself."

"You know, I might just do that," Wattkins agreed. "But I'll need a way to broadcast to the whole world. The broadcast emitter on Lenny's camera only broadcasts to Zotoan TVs, and only with studio authorization. Without that, it's useless."

"I'll be able to help with that," Gane said. "This is quite an excellent idea. I'll have to run this by the Emperor, but I'm sure he'll allow it. Besides, it's him who can get the other World Leaders' attention to authorize this."

"Excellent, sir! Thank you very much! I hope you don't mind if I stay here for a while, then?"

"That's not out of the question, either. Make yourself at home."

"Thank you very much."

* * *

Later that night, Pelame got herself ready for bed. It was no easy matter hiding her tension brought on by the day's earlier events. She'd failed to, as Neve noticed it and came over to comfort her.

"Sweetie, what's the matter?" she asked her daughter.

"Mom… at the Daoyinza today…"

Pelame proceeded to explain everything that happened at the location in question.

"I'm so glad you didn't come with me, Mom. Otherwise you could've… you could've…"

"Pelame, I would've gone with you if you asked," Neve reassured.

"NO! Mom, please… I don't want you to go with me anymore. From now on, just… stay where it's safe. Otherwise… you could…"

"Are you afraid that I'll become Mortite?"

Pelame nodded with tears in her eyes.

"I see. It does sound terrifying being turned into a Mortite statue."

"I love you, Mom. And I… *sniffle* I don't want to lose you… *sob*"

"Pelame, sweetie, you won't lose me any more than I'll lose you. I'll be fine."

"I hope so…"

"Let's get to sleep now, Pelame."

Pelame nodded in agreement. She pushed her bed next to Neve's.

"Sorry, Mom, but I'd feel a lot better this way," Pelame said in a worried tone.

"I understand, and it's okay with me," Neve answered. Both Pokémon climbed into their beds. "Good night, Pelame."

"Good night, Mom."

The two pulled the covers over themselves and went to sleep.

* * *

The time was now 3:20AM Zotoan time on Tenthmonth 16th, 1512. At the Zotoan Realm Gate, a large Ghost-type Pokémon emerged from it. The Gate closed itself behind him. He made his way into the Palace, avoiding being detected by all the Palace guards. He tracked down the room Pelame was asleep in and snuck into it. He launched a Dark Pulse at Pelame, taking care not to hit the sleeping glaceon near his target. Both Pokémon were awakened by this sudden attack.

"What in the—" Pelame said in a groggy voice. Her lethargy disappeared quickly when she saw exactly what attacked her. It was a large Ghost-type Pokémon with what appeared to be a face on his body. His head was cylinder-shaped and had a hole in it occupied by a yellow eye with a red pupil. On top of his head was a yellow antenna of some sort. _"He's a dusknoir… but why's he attacking me?"_

"Quite some nerve you have returning to this world, Nihilda!" the dusknoir said threateningly.

"Who's Nihilda?" Pelame asked.

The dusknoir didn't answer. He instead lashed out with another Dark Pulse.


	45. The Eyes of the Dark

Chapter 45 – The Eyes of the Dark

* * *

"Just tell me who this Nihilda is!" Pelame pleaded with the dusknoir who was attacking her. "I assure you, I'm not her! Or him! Or… I'm just not Nihilda!"

"What's going on here?" Neve asked, awakened by the commotion.

"Madam, this Pokémon is dangerous! Stay away from her!" the dusknoir ordered, sounding concerned.

"How dare you?! What makes you say such a thing?!"

"Are you on her side?!"

"Of course I am! She's my daughter!"

"Your daughter?! How is that possible?!" the dusknoir asked incredulously. He turned to Pelame, giving her a furious glare. "You crafty little monster. I'll just have to get rid of you both, then." He tossed a Dark Pulse at both Pelame and Neve, damaging them both. Seeing her mother get injured and seeing the dusknoir get another Dark Pulse ready to toss at her inspired Pelame's vigor. She jumped in front of her mother with an Alpha Barrier and blocked the attack. She then countered with an Alpha Orb.

"If you know what's good for you, you will leave my mother alone!" Pelame said threateningly.

"Alpha Power…?" the dusknoir said in confusion. "But Nihilda wasn't an Alpha." The large Ghost-type suddenly relaxed his posture. "My greatest apologies. I had you mistaken for someone else."

"So, does that mean you'll tell me who Nihilda is?!" Pelame asked accusingly.

"*sigh* We have much to discuss, Pelame."

"Wait a minute… you mistook me for someone else, yet you know my name?"

"Yes. I was looking for you, but I mistook you for Nihilda. You see, you bear a very close resemblance to her."

"Gatekeeper, what are you doing here?" Emperor Kentahito asked. "Why are you making all this commotion?"

"Sire!" the dusknoir responded, bowing. "I'm very sorry to have disturbed you."

"Wait, how do you two know each other?" Pelame asked.

"Sire, I apologize for the trouble I caused. I attacked Pelame, thinking she was her own ancestor Nihilda."

"I know you have reasons for your actions. Still, I wish you wouldn't have done so, Gatekeeper." The Emperor and Gatekeeper turned to Pelame. "Pelame, this is Gatekeeper. He watches over the Realm Gates on the Immortal side. He's effectively also the emissary between the two Realms."

"I work closely with the World Leaders to ensure balance between the two Realms. That is the reason the Emperor and I are familiar with one another. I am familiar with the other World Leaders, too. And that means I am aware of the Twilight King's betrayal of the world."

"I see," Pelame responded. "But what does this have to do with Nihilda, who apparently is an ancestor of mine?"

"Sire, is it okay if Pelame goes to the Realm Gate? It's best I discuss this with her in the Immortal Realm."

"Only in these dire circumstances do I permit such a thing," the Emperor responded. "Take Neve with you, too."

"Understood, sire."

Pelame and Neve followed Gatekeeper to the Jade Pool.

"It's down there?" Neve asked.

"Follow me," Gatekeeper ordered. The two Pokémon dove in after Gatekeeper and followed him through a hidden underwater tunnel that was previously invisible. The tunnel stretched a long way, but eventually they reached the end. One more swim upward and they all surfaced. Gatekeeper had no need to breathe, but Pelame and Neve did. The two climbed out of the water and followed their guide down a clearing in a forest area. At the end of it was their destination. It looked like the one Pelame saw in the Twilight Kingdom, except the only lit node was Shizazoto's.

"This is a Realm Gate, huh?" Neve asked. "It looks marvelous."

"Just through here." Gatekeeper opened the Zotoan Gate, causing a cylinder of light to rise from the Zotoan node. The two followed Gatekeeper into it, and from there, they entered the Immortal Realm. Inside, they found it to be very much like the Mortal Realm. The field they were standing on was gigantic and had the six Realm Gates lined up in a straight line, each marked with the Sigil of the countries they led to. Four of them were wide open and infused with Mortite. The last two (which were Shizazoto's and Pumbloomberg's) were the same golden color as the Emblem of Existence on the ground. It bore a perfect resemblance to the Realm Gates of the Mortal Realm, except for six of the twelve nodes having cylinders of light on them.

"The Immortal Realm…" Pelame said in awe. "It doesn't look too different from the Mortal Realm, but it still looks amazing…"

"I'm glad you like it, Pelame. But if things get as bad as us Immortals are fearing, it won't stay this way."

"Oh, right. You had something to tell us, correct?"

"Correct. You see, Pelame, a member of your lineage is partly responsible for all of this."

"You mean Nihilda, right?"

"Yes. She was the last of your ancestors to have not been an Alpha, and her son was the first Alpha in the world. The full details of her transgression and cooperation with the World Destroyer are still being determined, as is the reason it was all forgotten in the first place. But what we _do_ know is this: she and the World Destroyer eventually became one being in one body somehow, and nearly destroyed the world together once before. Worse still, she's used all the despair, agony, and suffering in the world to begin resurrecting herself. And when she became an acting force, she made my five fellow Immortal Boundary Holders Disappear."

"Wait a minute; Immortals can die?" Neve asked.

"No. But they can Disappear. To Disappear means to stop existing at all. And that's what Nihilda and the World Destroyer are capable of doing. The Twilight King is likely to gain that ability himself close to Genesis Day. But as for Nihilda and the World Destroyer themselves, they have it and always have had it. That's why they don't want you dead, Pelame; they're planning to make you Disappear. When you Disappear, everything about you ceases to be: your body, your soul, and everything attached to your soul. This includes Alpha Power. And if that happens to a currently active World Leader…" Gatekeeper pointed to the Gates. "Their corresponding Boundary will be destroyed. Five of them are significantly damaged, but of all of the Boundary Holders Disappear, then the two Planes of Existence will become one singular Plane. The two Realms colliding into one another will have immeasurable consequences."

"Then…that means…" Pelame pondered. "Unod and Nihilda are trying to break the Boundary."

"Yes. And there's one more thing you must be informed about. The countries whose Realm Gates have been opened by either the Twilight King, Unod, or Nihilda are now completely under their control. Or, Unod's control, rather. Countries whose Realm Gates are closed or have not been opened by the Dark Blessing are safe. The Eyes of the Dark patrol the affected areas and turn all who look at them into Mortite."

"I've seen those Eyes!"

"Then that means the Zotoan Gate is weakening. You two must leave now so I can shut the Gate. As long as none of them open it, I can still close it. The Gates they've opened are being forced to stay open by Unod's will."

"I see."

"Feel free to impart this information to whoever you see fit. Now go! And don't falter!"

Pelame and Neve left the Immortal Realm, allowing Gatekeeper to close the Gate. Neve couldn't help but notice her daughter's expression resembled the look she had back at Denkidako Dam, so she thought better of prodding her daughter about it.

* * *

The date was now Tenthmonth 23rd, 1512. Neve, Zeki, Blessing, and Treasure had caught on to Pelame's mood.

"Pelame, are you doing okay?" Neve asked.

"Yeah, I'm a bit worried, too," Blessing added. "I've not seen you like this since… well, ever."

"I'm fine!" Pelame answered rather aggressively. "Don't worry about me!"

"Pelame, it's okay," Zeki reassured. "Believe me, I'd be angry if I were related to a monster, too. But please don't be so aggressive. We all just want what's best for you."

"I know! I just… *sigh* I need a moment."

"Well, Pelame, why don't we go out to the city and—"

"NO!"

Neve, Blessing, Treasure, and Zeki flinched at Pelame's outburst.

"NO! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! We CAN'T go out there!"

"Pelame, settle down," Neve said.

"If the Eyes of the Dark see you, you'll become… you'll turn into… look, we can't leave the Palace! We just can't!"

"Pelame…"

"We just need to stay here. We'll be safe. The less victims Unod and my complete _BITCH_ of an ancestor gain, the better."

"Pelame, I know you're worried," Treasure said. "But we'll be fine. We have things we need to do today."

"But, if you…"

"We know, Pelame. We won't look into those Dark Eyes. We'll be okay."

"*sigh* all right. But please, _please_ be careful."

"We will, sweetie," Neve reassured. "We'll bring you back something nice, too." With that, they left.

* * *

"Nothing, huh?" Benedict asked.

"Nothing," Gane answered. "We've put you through every test we have. And you seem to be completely normal."

"I feared that. It's making me think the Dark Blessing has become a part of me. As in, an actually vital ingredient of my soul rather than just some parasite feeding off of it."

"You want Pelame to Purify you?"

"You know, I think that'd be best by now. Sorry I wasted your time having you put me through all those tests."

"Actually, _I_ ought to apologize to _you_ for administering those tests. Never thought I'd be doing such horrible things again."

"It's no big deal. I'll go find Pelame now."

"She ought to be training with His Majesty in the training area beneath the Southern Palace."

"Thanks." Benedict bid Gane farewell and left his lab to seek out Pelame. As he'd been told, he found her training with the Emperor. "Pardon me, sire?"

"Yes, Benedict, what is it?" the Emperor responded.

"Pelame, may you please Purify me?"

"Oh, you're ready for that now?" Pelame asked.

"Yep. All those tests Gane put me through yielded no results. And we went through _everything_ with those tests: responses to pain, reflex tests, exercise tests, analyzing various body samples, all that stuff. I was hoping something about the Dark Blessing could be discovered from that so it could help you fight it and the tyrant I once called my king, but no results came up. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Benedict. I appreciate your help. I'll have you Purified right now."

Pelame went over to the naked furfrou and make physical contact with him. She used her Alpha Power to locate where the Dark Blessing was. It wasn't hard to find, as it had engulfed a lot of his soul. It took her a lot of energy, but she was able to expel the evil spirit. It was an immense relief for both of them.

"Whoa… it sure feels great to be all me again," Benedict said. "Thanks, Pelame."

"No problem."

"Say, do you mind if I train with you?"

"Sure!"

* * *

"Here you go, my boy," Zaki said to his unconscious son who was lying on a hospital bed. By now, his burn had mostly healed up, which permitted him to be moved from the I.C.U. tank. At any moment, he would awaken. Zaki had dropped by to trickle some Moomoo Milk into the tube Mori was being fed through, having gotten clearance to do so from the doctor. He turned to leave, when suddenly…

"…dad…?"

Zaki turned back around immediately.

"Son?!"

Mori's eyes flickered open. "...hey…dad…"

"My boy!" Zaki went over and hugged his son, holding back enough so that he wouldn't hurt his recovering son. "Thank goodness you're okay! I thought I was going to lose you!"

"…I'm okay…dad… I missed you…too…"

"Oh, wait until your mother hears this! Mori, I knew you'd pull through!"

"…where's…Pelame…?"

At that, Zaki's mood dropped somewhat. "Never mind her, son."

"I want…to see her…"

"Mori, my boy, I don't want her near you anymore. It's her fault this craziness started happening to you. It'll be best for you to just stay away from her from now on. Okay?"

"But, dad…"

"It's for your own good. Please understand." He gave his son one final hug and then left the room, turning back only to say, "I'll tell mom to make your favorite food for dinner tonight, and we'll bring it to you."

Once Zaki left the room, Mori was alone with only some books the doctor left on his bedside to keep him company. He reached over to grab one, but felt something soft and gooey instead. When he looked down to see what it was, he saw a small round mass of purple and black.

* * *

**"****It's nearly time, Twilight King."**

"I hope so," responded King Kangaskhan II as he meditated in his throne room back in the Twilight Kingdom. "I've had enough waiting. The other countries are under my control now, so it's about time Shizazoto joined them."

**"****Indeed."**

* * *

"He's awake?" Pelame asked joyfully.

"Yep! My husband told me!" Zeki answered. "I'm sure he'll be so happy to see you!"

"But… your husband won't—"

"Oh, yes, he will. I'll see to it. As soon as this Occa Berry Curry is done, which will be in one more minute, we'll all see him together."

"Well, I hope Mr. Zaki listens to you."

"Don't worry. I can tame him. Curry's done, so let's go."

Pelame and Zeki went to the hospital wing and met with a horrifying sight. The entire hospital wing was covered in Mortite. The two Pokémon entered in a hurry and found Zaki trying desperately to break Mori out of it.

"What are _you_ doing here?!" he demanded once he saw Pelame. She ignored him and immediately got to work repelling the Mortite. In three minutes' time, it was all gone. Mori and the rest of the hospital wing was freed.

"Thanks, Pelame," Mori said in relief.

"No problem," Pelame responded, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Zaki suddenly grabbed Pelame by the left ear and dragged her out of the room. He tossed her to the corner of the hallway outside the hospital wing.

"All right, you," he began accusingly. "What's going on here?! What was that stuff my son was frozen in, and why were you able to clear it all away?!"

"Zaki, you see…" Pelame then explained all she could about the Alpha Bloodline and the Dark Blessing, making sure to leave out the part about the Realm Gate.

"I knew it all along: you _are_ a danger to my son. You'd better not be anywhere near him anymore, or so help me Arceus, you will regret it."

"Mr. Zaki, I want to protect your son, too—"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY! STAY AWAY FROM MY SON!"

Pelame shied away from Zaki in response to that outburst. She walked away in shame.

* * *

That night, Pelame was feeling very restless. This day's events kept her from getting any sleep.

_"__How did Mortite get into the Palace?"_ she kept pondering. _"It couldn't be…?"_

Coming to a dreadful conclusion, she left her bedroom quietly so as not to wake her mother and made for the Realm Gate. When she got there, she stood on the Zotoan node.

"Gatekeeper, are you there?" she requested. She was soon answered when the dusknoir came through the gate to greet her.

"What is it, Pelame?" he asked.

"Mortite was in the Palace today. It froze my friend Mori over. It engulfed the entire hospital wing, too."

"Did you clear it?"

"Yes, but I'm concerned as to how it got here in the first place. The Palace is protected by a huge Alpha Barrier I helped the Emperor build. Nothing like this should've happened."

"I thought so, too. Sorry, Pelame, but I don't know how this happened. But it is fortunate that you're here, because I needed to inform you about a troubling event."

"What is it?"

"The Dark Blessing has experienced a large surge of power. I don't know how it happened, but it's made it so Nihilda and Unod have just made lots of progress regaining their physical form. At this rate, they could be a fully active force at their prime even before Genesis Day arrives."

"Can something be done to stop this?!"

"I don't know, Pelame. But I'll look into this as much as I can."

"I hope we end up finding a way…"

Gatekeeper returned to the Immortal Realm.

"So _this_ is what this craziness is all about, huh?"

Pelame turned around in surprise to see Zaki standing there with a glare on his face.

"Zaki?! Why are you here? This place is forbidden!"

"I followed you here," Zaki answered.

"But it's impossible for— wait a minute…you were able to follow because of Gatekeeper."

"Yes, he led me here. And so did you. And now, I'm going to get some answers!" Zaki went over to the Zotoan node on the Emblem.

"Zaki, what are you doing?"

Zaki didn't answer. He placed his hands on the Zotoan node. Suddenly, it turned into Mortite, as did the rest of the Emblem. The cylinder of light came up from the ground and became dark upon his touch. The Realm Gate was opened, and would now remain open.

"A Dark Blessing…! Zaki, you…"

"I will protect my son, no matter what. I will keep him safe from all dangers of the world. Most of all, you." Before Pelame could react, he grabbed Pelame and froze her to the ground in Mortite. He was suddenly hit in the back by Gatekeeper.

"What's going on here?! Who are you?!"

"Do not get in my way!" Zaki's eyes suddenly turned purple and black, freezing Gatekeeper solid in a block of Mortite. Zaki's eyes returned to normal afterwards. He focused back on Pelame.

"Why, Zaki?!"

"Morikain will not be troubled anymore!"

Zaki placed his hands on Pelame's neck and began to choke her. As he did so, his Dark Blessing power enveloped her and turned her into Mortite. After that, a Quick Attack from nowhere caught him off-guard.

"Father, that's enough!" Mori declared, standing in front of Pelame, who was using her Alpha Power to thaw herself out of the Mortite.

"Son ,stand aside!"

"No! I'm not letting you hurt Pelame! She's my best friend!"

"She's the reason you nearly died!"

"No, she's the reason I _didn't_ die! I know you want to protect me ,and I appreciate that. I really do. But I'm not going to let you hurt her, even for that reason. If you kill her, then you'll have to kill me, too!"

"Son, don't do this!"

Pelame finally broke out of the Mortite and lashed at Zaki with an Alpha Cord. It made a cut on his arm, which began bleeding.

"Pelame, what are you doing?!"

"Mori, that's not your father!"

"What do you mean?"

"I saw it when he turned me into Mortite! The body is Zaki's, but the soul is—"

"Unod's…" Mori was as horrified as Pelame.

The nuzleaf's expression turned from anger to mere annoyance.

"Hmph… I really do hate having such perceptive nemeses…"

"It's Unod… but she sounds just like Dad."

"Of course I do. I have his body, so I have everything along with it."

"Then…she's got Zaki's memories, too…" Pelame said, shaking in fear.

"Where's my father?" Mori demanded, snarling.

"Your father is dead. He never returned from Celebi's Forest."

Pelame gasped in shock.

_"I went to Celebi's Forest to get some Blue Bannouyaku flowers, but they all got burned down. Now Mori will never recover, and it's all my fault!"_ she remembered Zaki saying. It was clear to her now.

"_YOU_ burned down all the Blue Bannouyaku flowers!" Pelame shouted.

"Indeed. Lucky for me, you and those others were dumb enough to believe that alibi of mine. And at the very least, you had the courtesy to wait until it was too late to see through this flawless disguise of mine."

"You flawlessly impersonated Mr. Zaki all this time… I should've detected the Dark Blessing coming from you… how did you elude me?!"

"Well, all I can say is that I'm getting stronger, and also better at hiding from you. But now, I no longer need to hide!"

Zaki's eyes turned purple and black again, freezing Mori in Mortite, but leaving Pelame unscathed. Before she could react, he shout out a small, but powerful beam of dark energy from his eyes. It hit Gatekeeper's frozen form directly and shattered it, leaving nothing behind. As a result of this, one of the set of six nodes on the Emblem completely vanished. Pelame knew what that meant.

"Now, only the Mortal Boundary Holders are left." Zaki tried firing another shot, but couldn't. "Ugh…the drawbacks of having a Mortal body as weak as this one. Nowhere near as good as Nihilda's. But at least I can do this!" Zaki jumped into the air and flew in the direction of the Palace. Pelame thawed out Mori and the two quickly gave chase. When they arrived back at the palace, they saw Zaki's possessed form encasing the entire Palace in Mortite. Only the Emperor, the Princess, Zeki, and Pelame's friends managed to escape.

"What's going on here?" Neve asked.

"Zaki's possessed!" Pelame explained. "Unod's been impersonating him ever since he returned from Celebi's Forest!"

Pelame, Neve, and the Emperor tosses Alpha Orbs at Zaki. They all hit, and he fell to the ground. Just before hitting the ground, he flipped around and made a three-point landing. Upon doing so, the Mortite covering the Palace turned to a liquid-like form. It was very hot, and it set the Palace on fire and even began melting it.

"Repel _that_, why don't you?!" Zaki taunted. He gathered a handful of this lava-like substance and tossed it at Pelame. When she jumped to dodge, he caught her. Taking a quick moment to use his Dark Eyes to freeze everyone else, he got to work on Pelame. "I'd like you a lot better not existing!"

Pelame couldn't do anything to fight back. Even using her Alpha Power to try to push it back wasn't working. She was completely overwhelmed. And now, she felt her entire being get attacked and torn apart. It hurt her beyond all measure. If she could scream, she'd be able to be heard from all over Pocketurn. Pelame's struggles soon stopped.

It was at that moment that an Alpha Orb hit Zaki and made him drop Pelame onto the ground.

"Finish making my daughter Disappear, and you'll live to regret it!"

Pelame looked up and saw her father attacking Zaki, freezing most of him with an Ice Beam. He took this chance to go Purify the possessed nuzleaf.

"Zaki, as soon as she's out, you take your body back!"

"Understood!" Zaki's disembodied soul responded.

Residual energy Pinna was giving off thawed out the others who had been frozen in Mortite. Pelame felt renewed vigor from this sight and rushed forth to help. She made contact with Zaki and began combining her Alpha Purify ability with Pinna's. Even then, they both struggled. It was then that Neve rushed forward to help as well. As she wasn't of Grani's lineage, she couldn't help with the Purifying. However, she tried something else. Placing her paws upon her daughter and husband, she boosted their Alpha Power with Helping Hand. With that, the family finally Purified Zaki, giving his disembodied soul a chance to take his body back.

"Take _that_, World Destroyer!" Pinna gloated.

"Dad!" Mori called out, cradling his father.

"…son…" Zaki said. "I…need…to rest…for a bit…" Zaki then lost consciousness.

"He'll be okay," Pinna reassured. "Unod's done some damage to him. He needs to recover."

"You found him, didn't you?" Pelame asked.

"Yep. That's a reason I took so long to return. I felt the presence of Mortite in Celebi's Forest. I arrived after this possession had happened, but I found his soul. This was actually earlier today that this happened."

"I see. Well, you arrived not a moment too soon. Any longer, and I would have Disappeared."

"No way was I going to let that happen, darling."

**"****Well, pity you can't do the same for Shizazoto, huh?"**

Everyone looked around, having heard the voice in their heads. A flash of black, and the entire landscape turned into Mortite, leaving only Pokémon unscathed. A huge shadow covered the land. When Pelame looked up, she saw its cause. In the sky was a giant apparition. It closely resembled the Emblem of Existence, but it didn't have any nodes in its center. There were extra rings within it, all out in different directions. Dark Eyes were all over it, and they were all looking different directions and moving constantly. Soon, they focused on Pelame.

**"****It's good to have some semblance of a physical form again. How do you like it, Pelame?"**

Pelame was too scared to respond.

**"****I'll go ahead and take that as a compliment. Of course, it's my abilities that truly matter. I eagerly anticipate Genesis Day, where I'll be able to do this to the entire world. But for now, Shizazoto will do."**

"WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Pelame screamed in terror, quickly reaching into her backpack to get the Eon Flute, blowing into it in a hurry. The Eon Duo arrived and picked up all their passengers. Pelame, Neve, Treasure, Blessing, the Emperor and Princess, Pinna, Benedict, Zaki, Zeki, Mori, Sickle, Immolga, Kushi, and the little sableye got onto their backs and the two were off. Sanjuro suddenly appeared next to Pelame once they left the Palace's jurisdiction.

"Okay, what'd you interrupt me for _now_?" he complained.

"Take a look, moron!" Blessing answered on Pelame's behalf.

**"****Escaping isn't something I'm willing to permit."**

As the Eon Duo neared the shores of Shizazoto, the Eyes of the Dark overhead shot out some Dark Orbs at them and their passengers. All of the on-board Alphas did their best to block them all with Alpha Barriers. The onslaught was relentless and beginning to wear on them by the time they got halfway through International Waters. When they were near Pumbloomberg's shores, they gave out and fainted. With the Alpha Barriers gone, the Dark Orbs hit the Eon Duo, making them crash-land into the water near Shizazoto. Subsequent attacks disappeared before they could reach them.

_"__We're safe now…"_ Pelame thought. _"Unod can't get us in a place where the Realm Gate is closed."_

Nobody had the energy to move, so they all faded into unconsciousness as they sank into the water's depths. As Pelame was blacking out, she saw a dragonite and a dragonair swimming toward her.


	46. Arrival in Pumbloomberg

Chapter 46 – Arrival in Pumbloomberg

* * *

In the sky was a plane heading to Pumbloomberg. Two of the passengers on board was Shelby and his chesnaught mother

"You think that nice eevee lady made it to where we're going?" the chespin child asked his mother.

"I hope so," she answered. "It seems to be the only place those eyes aren't infesting. Remember not to look into them, dear."

"I won't. I don't wanna be turned to—whatever that dark crystally stuff is."

**"****That's very interesting, Shelby. I don't really remember caring about what ****_you_**** want."**

On the screen showing the in-flight film, a Dark Eye opened up and turned everyone on board into Mortite. Another Eye in the cockpit did the same to the pilots, sending the plane out of control and heading straight into the ocean.

"Mom!" Shelby said to his mother's frozen form, unaware of the plane's predicament. He started pounding on the Mortite to try to free his mother. While he did that, an Eye opened up and turned the chespin boy into Mortite. Eventually, the plane itself was turned into Mortite, and it fell and sank into the ocean, taking with it a cargo ship that had fallen victim to the same fate.

* * *

**"****Pocketurn, it has been a while."**

Pokémon all over the planet heard the words spoken to them. The voice reached the whole planet. It interrupted television, radio, and Internet signals. It spoke to Pokémon however it could.

**"****Do be afraid. I speak to you of matters that will no doubt terrify you all. Those of you located in an area other than Pumbloomberg, look up."**

Despite their inherent fear, everyone did so. The form of what they saw in the sky was inexplicable. Any Pokémon unfortunate enough to make direct eye contact with the Dark Eyes turned into Mortite where they stood.

**"****You see me? That is me, the form of Unod, the World Destroyer. Though my power is not fully realized yet, it grows quickly the closer we get to Genesis Day. But even as I am now, I can punish those I see fit to. Those who refuse to believe who rules the world and those who refuse to accept life's inherent futility shall be my primary targets until then. And when Genesis Day arrives, all shall be Judged by me."**

There was chatter among the populace about what the evil Immortal could mean by that.

**"****It won't be long before Genesis Day arrives. So, until it does, I suggest you all come to terms with what your fate will be. Spend your final moments however you see fit. No matter what you do, it won't matter. Not that it ever did, anyway. Arceus put you all on this planet, on Existence itself, for reasons he's never consistently certain of. So, if even your very maker doesn't know why he made you, then why even bother being at all? Ponder this thought, and see you all on Genesis Day."**

* * *

On the Twilight Kingdom's mainland, Twarkleton had patrolled the World Capital (as the Twilight King had renamed the Ville du Soleil Couchant) and seen that many members of the population has turned into Mortite. The only ones that were spared were those who pledged allegiance to the King. He returned to the Throne Room to report his findings to the King.

"Sire, all the rebels, what little there are, have become Mortite," he said.

"Excellent," the King responded. "The world's finally seeing who should be in charge of it."

"Who, sire? You, or the World Destroyer?"

"Me, of course! What makes you ask such a thing?"

"Well, it's just that it appears the world isn't coming under your control. It's coming under _hers_."

"And by proxy, that puts _me_ in control. Remember that she's working for me."

"That's another thing that concerns me. Is the World Destroyer really working for you?"

"Even if she's not—and I'm aware that could be the case—I can handle her."

"I hope so, sire…"

With that, Twarkleton returned to his duties.

"He seems to be losing faith in you, sire," Keldeo noted.

"He won't betray us," the King responded. "We'll make certain of that. Keep a close eye on him from now on, Keldeo."

"Yes, sire. It'll be my pleasure."

Once Keldeo went off to do so, the King took this chance to reaffirm his spot.

"Unod, don't think you'll take this world from me. I hope you haven't forgotten which one of us is more powerful."

**"****I have not. But you'll have to do a lot to convince the world that you're its destined ruler. They've not believed you before now, and their skepticism is only growing further."**

"I am aware of that. But as soon as I conquer Pumbloomberg, Pocketurn will completely belong to me. Keldeo and I just need to complete our new weapon to do that."

* * *

Out of her traveling party, Pelame was the last to awaken. The bedroom she was in was empty. She assumed that whoever she was with had left already. Rubbing fatigue out of her eyes, she looked out the window. She saw many houses next to each other on a giant lawn that belonged to a huge four-story mansion. In the cellar entrance of one of the houses, she saw something peculiar. A round blue object with what appeared to be a tail was sticking out of it. The tail was thrashing around, trying to escape. She couldn't see any back feet, so she assumed they were caught, too. She left the house to go investigate.

"Excuse me, what happened?" she asked.

"I got stuck, obviously!" the object answered. "And that jerk in charge of building these houses just left me here!"

"Wait a minute…" Upon being spoken to, Pelame recognized the voice, despite it being slightly muffled. "Flygon, is that you?!"

"Of course it is! Glad you recognize my butt. Now get me out of here!"

"Just a moment."

"Don't 'just a moment' me! Get me out!"

Pelame ignored the trapped salamence and went to see if she could seek someone out. All she could find were the two Pokémon she saw coming for her in the ocean.

"Professor Caius?" she said to the dragonite.

"Oh, Pelame! You're awake!" Caius responded in relief.

"It's been a while, Professor!"

"Pelame, you've graduated from Llyria. You don't need to call me 'Professor' anymore."

"You saved us from the ocean, right?"

"Yep. Me and my sister Xue."

"Nice to meet you, Pelame," said the dragonair next to Caius. "You've been out for nine days. Emperor Kentahito and Princess Jurihito went to the Capital to see President Cadence."

"Wait, it's Eleventhmonth 1st, 1512 now?" Pelame asked.

"Yes."

"Where am I?"

"You're in Chestebury, Pumbloomberg. It's a fair distance to Luttney, which I'm sure you know is the Capital. You'd be looking at a 5-hour public transportation trip, or a 3-hour or so trip by driving. Regardless of your method of getting there, the Big Fat Syndicate of Purple will make the trip very dangerous."

"You'd best not run into them, Pelame," Caius added. "I know you do well against Demon-types, but these guys are seriously bad news. I mean, if you're gonna go ahead to the Capital, I won't stop you."

"Good, thanks. By the way, is there a landlord of this development?"

"Yep, and he's stuck in that cellar. Henri said we should leave him there until he gets out, as he clearly hasn't learned from the last nineteen times this happened. Speaking of Henri, he's out getting more building supplies."

"Hmm. That probably won't teach him anything, but orders are orders. So where's everyone else?"

"Oh, they're in our house right here."

"All right. Thanks." Pelame entered the house and saw the first two Pokémon she wanted to see most.

"Oh, you're awake!" Neve said in relief. "Dinner's being made for us by Zeki."

"It's great to see you're okay, Mom, and… Pinna." Pelame didn't glare at her father, but the look she gave him sure wasn't a pleasant one. "I've got things I need to say to you."

"I know what this is about, Pelame, and I will make no excuses for any of it," Pinna said with regret.

"Well, you're right," Pelame responded assertively. "You've made a mistake working for the Twilit Army and helping conquer a lot of Pocketurn."

"I understand if you don't forgive me. Frankly, I don't think I deserve it."

"That's because you don't. At least...not yet. And I'd be lying if I said I was taking this whole Twilight World situation well."

"Well, who _would_ be happy about that? Sorry for interrupting."

"The thing is, I lashed out at my friends and Mom a few times. And I nearly lost Blessing's friendship. But she gave me a chance to earn her friendship back. So that's what I'm going to do for you: I'm giving you a chance. And, to be honest, you saving us back in Shizazoto got your foot in the door. So, thanks for that."

"No problem. And I promise I won't let you down again. I won't let either one of you down."

"Thanks."

* * *

Despite not having a mouth, Henri had no difficulties in his day-to-day activities.

"Hope you get that cured soon," said the timburr working as the carpentry store's clerk as Henri paid for the supplies he bought. When he made it back to his car, he was suddenly snatched by a flying Pokémon and carried into the sky along with his purchase.

"MMMM! MMM mmmm mgmm!" he shouted up at the Pokémon carrying him. It was a noivern, and a particularly portly one at that.

"Shut up! Your stuff's making you really heavy!" the fat noivern demanded. "You think it's not hard enough already for me to fly?! Good thing the lake's not far from here."

_"__(Le lac?! Ce que nous allons là-bas pour?!)"_ Henri wondered in fear. He didn't dare try to struggle out of the noivern's grip, as he knew the fall would kill him.

"Ah, here we are. A great spot to dispose of you. Really popular among the city's underworld, so far as I've heard." He set Henri down and used Supersonic to confuse the sneasel. While he was confused, he took the opportunity to tie him to everything he bought. He shoved Henri into the water and flew away after he sank.

**"****You know, it would be wise to make certain he'll drown down there."**

"Isn't that what I already did?"

**"****Don't say I didn't warn you, then."**

Back in the lake, Henri reached the bottom. Nothing he did loosened the ropes tying his feet and hands to his newly-bought supplies. He wasted air trying to struggle free. By the time half of his lung capacity was spent, help came to him in the form of Weston slicing the ropes. He quickly brought Henri up to the surface.

"You okay, Mister Henri?" he asked between gasps for air.

Henri nodded. He pointed down to the lake bottom, where his supplies were.

"I'll get them. Just a sec." Weston took a deep breath and dove down into the lake after Henri's supplies. Getting a grip on the bag's handle, he swam up with them. He found this hard to do, as it was quite heavy. While at the surface, he had a lot of difficulty staying afloat while holding it, but he did his best. His face went below the water a few times, but he eventually made it back to shore where Henri was waiting. If Henri could speak, Weston assumed he was currently thanking him. "Okay. Here they are. Where's your car at?"

Henri didn't understand what was asked of him. In the sandy area of the lake shore, he drew a crude picture of himself going to his car. Weston guessed that he was saying that he was going to return there.

"Want me to come along?" he asked, drawing an image of his own to try asking his question in terms Henri could understand. Henri nodded. "Okay. Stay with me, then."

* * *

"So, Henri made all these houses?" Pelame asked, contributing to the dinner table topic.

"Yep," Caius answered. "He and his crew. He and his sister run a construction business here in Chestebury. He didn't build Flygon's house, though."

"Ugh, that Flygon is the worst landlord ever," Professor Snapper added. "Constantly berates his poor wife, hits on all the women living in these houses—especially me, snags shares of the food everyone cooks—which is the reason he kept getting stuck in the doors, it's just awful."

"Honestly, I'm a bit unnerved hearing that he's apparently married."

"Oh, his wife's hardly any better," Professor Aramir added. "As terribly as Flygon treats her, Higon's said some rather nasty things about him, she tacks on any nonsense she can think of to our rent and bills, she berates us just because she feels like it, and so on and so forth. It's been awful living here."

"So why not move?" Neve asked.

"We're going to after the Big Fat Syndicate of Purple is dealt with," Snapper answered. "Until then, we're just going to have to put up with those awful landlords. But at least it's amusing seeing some misfortune befall them. See how Flygon's still trying to wriggle out of that cellar entrance next door?" She glanced back out the dining room window to see Flygon's bottom wriggling around in an attempt to get free. "Hee hee… sorry to say, but I find that very amusing."

"Not to sound mean, but so do I," Pelame agreed.

"Say, where's that greninja you were with?" Pinna asked.

"I don't know, but I'll go get him. He needs to eat some dinner himself." Having finished her food, Pelame excused herself from the table. She left the mansion property, and as she thought, Sanjuro appeared next to her.

"You know, I'm not going to bother asking," he said in a disgruntled tone, shaking some water off of himself.

"Good, because it's dinnertime, and Ms. Zeki worked hard to prepare a nice meal for us all. So come in and—"

Pelame stalled once she saw Weston and Henri approaching. She saw that Henri had no mouth.

"Here. Mr. Henri. I'll help you." She used her Alpha Power on Henri to cure his predicament. At last, he had a mouth again.

"Ma bouche est revenu! Je peux parler de nouveau!" Henri said in glee. "Merci Pelame! Merci beaucoup!"

"No problem," Pelame responded to the only bit of familiar Old Blooman Henri just said to her.

"Say, how did you know Pelame's name?" Weston asked.

"Il faudra que tu me le redemande quand nous aurons vu Marie."

"I can answer for him. I met him back in Shizazoto. Unfortunately, we ran into a bit of a language barrier."

"Like right now?" Sanjuro added.

"Exactly."

"Well, should've studied more, then, book-caterpie."

Pelame ignored Sanjuro's jab. The four of them entered Caius's house to have dinner.

"Henri, ta bouche est revenu!" Marie said in excitement.

"Oui, Pelame a reglé le problème" Henri answered. "De plus, ce gentil ouisticram m'a sauvé de la noyade dans le lac."

"Quoi?! Quelqu'un a essayé de te tuer?"

"Ouais, un espèce de gros bruyverne m'a attrapé et lâché dans le lac. Puis ce type m'a sauvé et on est revenu avec tout mes achats."

"Je suis soulagée, et contente que tu aille bien. C'est pas souvent que quelqu'un survie a une rencontre avec Le Grand, Gros Syndicat des Violets."

"Ouais."

"By the way, how exactly did you find my brother to rescue him?"

"Well, I saw a fat noivern carry him off. He wasn't exactly inconspicuous."

"Apparently not. That guy's the dumbest of the Syndicate members. If only the others were as dumb." Marie focused back on her brother. "Donc t'as tout le matériel?"

"Oui. Isolation, poutre de support, boulons, vis, câblage, toute ces choses. La dernière maison devrais être terminée d'ici demain."

"Enfin..."

"Ah aussi, j'ai vu que Flygon est toujours coincé. C'est cool de voir que personne ne l'a aidé. Peut-être que ça lui apprendra a prendre des trucs dans les maison sous prétexte qu'il est propriétaire et qu'il possède donc le terain et ses habitants. ET puis, je suis le seul à trouver ça drôle de le voir agiter inutilement ses grosses fesses dans l'entrée?"

"Henri, ne dit pas ce genre de choses devant nos invités."

"Ils ne savent même pas ce que je viens de dire. Et Flygon me frustre énormément."

"Hmm... Bah." Marie faced Pelame next. "So, Pelame, how did you restore my brother's mouth?"

"It's one of my Alpha Powers," Pelame answered. "I gained it from a Ghost-type in Shizazoto."

"Oh, there were Ghosts in Shizazoto, too?"

"Yes, there were. Some are good, but I've come across some terrible ones. Is it like that here, too?"

"Kinda. But ever since the World Destroyer made her big threat to the world, things got even crazier. Poor Pokémon… everyone suspects that's what the Purple Syndicate's deal is. It wouldn't surprise me."

Suddenly, Pinna started giggling.

"Honey, what's so funny?" Neve asked.

"Sorry, dear, but I can't help it," Pinna explained. "It's just that that idiot I once called my king seriously believes he can tame the monster who made that threat, in addition to the googolplexes of other crises she's caused in the world! I mean, really, he thinks everything's gonna go well for him by working with that thing?! Is he crazy?!"

"I know that's a rhetorical question, but yes, he is," Marie answered.

"I'm sure glad I finally wised up. Pumbloomberg's the last safe place, and therefore the only remaining non-Twilit culture in the world. As Arceus is my witness, I won't let it be overtaken by Twilit junk."

"Well, let's not condemn another culture now, just because its current leader is a despotic nutcase."

"Sorry, Miss…"

"Marie. And this sneasel here is my brother Henri."

"Gotcha. So, how exactly did you two learn Old Blooman, anyway? It's a very nice language."

"Thank you. I learned it because I was pursuing a career in history. As for my brother…" She quickly turned to Henri. "Henri, ça va si je leur dit comment tu as changé de langue?"

"Vas-y, c'est bon."

"Juste pour être sûr." Marie addressed the group. "This all started when the Twilight Kingdom conquered Swadfrieg. Henri was very angry when it happened, so he set out to find Uxie, who visited Pumbloomberg at that time of the year."

* * *

_"__Henri, are you really sure about this?" Marie asked in concern._

_"__Yes, Marie! I don't want our home to vanish from Pocketurn! And I know you don't, either!"_

_"__You're right about that. But I just don't want you thinking you're making a mistake. You know not many Pokémon speak Old Blooman anymore. But if you really are sure about this, then I won't stop you."_

_"__Believe me, Marie, if you weren't already fluent in Old Blooman, I wouldn't have even considered this. I'd love for you to be my interpreter."_

_"__I'll be happy to do so. All right, let's go, then."_

_Henri and Marie approached the cave chamber where they knew Uxie was waiting. As they figured, the Being of Knowledge was inside._

_"__It's been a while since I got any visitors," Uxie greeted. "Welcome to my Blooman residence."_

_"__Good afternoon, Mister Uxie," Henri responded kindly. "How have you been?"_

_"__Very troubled. I've learned of Swadfrieg's fall to the Twilight Kingdom. I feared the world would ever gain another despot of this magnitude. Not since Jutsuhito of Shizazoto have I felt this foreboding from a World Leader."_

_"__I understand your feelings. I fear what he could do to Pumbloomberg, as well as the world, too. That has to do with why I've come to see you. I love my nation, and I don't want it gone. I want to help preserve it however I can."_

_"__That is very noble of you."_

_"__Thanks. I do hate to bother you with a memory request, but I figured this is the best way to preserve Blooman culture: by knowing its language. So, I'd like you to give me fluency in Old Blooman."_

_"__I see. But you know that I can't just place a memory within you, especially not on such a large magnitude as an entire language. You'd have to sacrifice a memory of yours in order for me to do that."_

_"__I know, and I'm prepared for that. I'm going to trade my fluency in Modern Pocketurn for fluency in Old Blooman. All words, proverbs, dialects, archaisms, everything."_

_"__I see. Are you sure you want this? Because if you change your mind later, you'll have to wait one month."_

_"__I'm certain. My sister Marie knows the language already, so she can be my translator."_

_"__Okay. Then whenever you're ready, I'll perform the swap."_

_Henri went up to his sister._

_"__Marie, thank you for this. I'm sorry I won't be able to speak to you in our native tongue anymore."_

_"__It's okay, Henri," Marie responded. "I'll be happy to be your translator."_

_The two siblings hugged one another._

_"__Okay, Mister Uxie, I'm ready."_

_"__All right."_

_Uxie activated his Psychic abilities to pry into Henri's mind. He found Henri's language knowledge and pulled it all out, rendering Henri unable to speak at all. He then used his powers to create a new memory consisting of the entire Old Blooman language. He finished by placing it inside the empty space in Henri's mind left behind by the removal of his first language._

_"__All finished."_

_"__Henri, how do you feel?" Marie asked._

_Henri looked at his sister in confusion._

_"__Excuse moi?" he asked._

_"__Henri, comment te sent-tu" Marie repeated in Henri's newly learned language._

_"__Je me sens bien! Merci d'être avec moi Marie." He turned to Uxie. "ET merci a vous aussi, monsieur Créhelf."_

_"__You're welcome, Henri."_

* * *

"That was very nice of you, Marie, being there for him during that moment," Neve commented once Marie finished telling about Henri's new language.

"You know, why did Pocketurn switch to one language, anyway?" Blessing asked.

"There are tons of reasons for that, actually," Pelame and Marie answered in unison. They both blushed once they realized this.

"You go ahead, Pelame," Marie volunteered.

"You sure?"

"Yes. _You're_ the Summa Cum Laude, after all."

"Well, me and Mori both. But if you're sure… see, among the many reasons for the language switch is international incidents caused by their various terminologies. Shizazoto got a lot of scorn directed at it by Dark-types for the fact that one of their two languages called them Evil-type."

"WHAT?!" Blessing exclaimed in fury. "Their name for Dark-type was literally an epithet against Dark-types?!"

"Well, that was how it became an epithet in the first place. Same goes for Old Friegan's name for them being Sinister-type."

"Wow. Just for that, I fully agree with the language switch. I can't believe those kinds of insults were allowed."

"Ma'am, they weren't originally insults," Marie said. "But it is understandable that Dark-types took such offense to those names."

"Good to see they learned. Sorry for the outburst, by the way."

"It's okay."

"And besides, that wasn't even the only international incident caused by this kind of thing. There are lots more."

"Switching to one language helped out a lot," Mori added. "But it certainly was not an instant fix. After all, it was a big adjustment to make on account of the world not having a language that sounded like this before the switch happened. The language we're speaking right now—that is, Modern Pocketurn—never existed before the switch happened. This was a brand-new language that was invented for the purpose of uniting the world. Plus, remember that this language does derive some words from the old languages and also the Original Language."

"I noticed that in my Old Blooman studies," Marie added. "I noticed that Old Blooman had some words that are used in Modern Pocketurn. Like, 'brutal' for instance."

"Sorry to change the subject, Miss Marie, but have you ever thought about applying at TIGHS?" Pelame asked.

"Yep, but I stayed to be with my brother. He needed me more, even though he has tried to convince me to pursue my dreams. How about you, Pelame?"

"I did work for them once. In fact, that was where I met Mori. We were rivals at first, but we worked that out and became friends."

"Why'd you quit, then?"

"Well, you see…" Pelame followed up with an explanation of the events that happened during her employment at TIGHS.

"That's so horrible! How could the World Destroyer be so evil?"

"That's what I'm trying to determine. I just hope TIGHS is okay. They're supposed to be in the Capital right now, if they're still going by the itinerary I saw last time I looked."

"You know, I'd better give them a call myself," Mori said. "My vacation went on _way_ longer than expected."

"I'm sure he'll understand. From what I've heard of Trailblazer, he's a reasonable guy," Marie said.

"Oh, definitely," Pelame agreed. "He's one of the best Pokémon I've ever known. I can't wait to see him again."

"Well, until then, feel free to stay here on this property. The last house that's going up tomorrow can be yours." Marie turned to her brother. "C'est d'accord pour que Pelame, sa famille et ses amis occupent la maison que tu vas construire demain?"

"Bien sur." Henri answered. "Pour cette nuit ils peuvent rester avec nous."

"D'accord, je vais leur dire." Marie turned to Pelame again. "That new house will be yours once it's done. Until then, our house is your house."

"Thanks!"

* * *

"SERIOUSLY?!" Flygon demanded. "No one's gonna help me out of here?!"

He got no answer.

"Fine! I see how it is!"

A few minutes later, he felt something warm be draped over his exposed rear end.

"Bonne nuit, Flygon." Henri said, patting the salamence's covered bottom. "ça devrait te tenir chaud, et aussi nous épargner la vue dans ton horrible fessier pendant toute la nuit." He went back into his house.

"*sigh* Well, guess I'm staying here like this tonight. Thanks for the blanket, jerk."

Back inside Henri's house, he and Marie helped Pelame settle in for the night.

"This sure is a nice place you've built, Mister Henri," Pelame said to the Blooman sneasel. Marie translated that compliment for her brother.

"Merci, même si je ne vis pas vraiment ici. J'ai juste construit celle-ci pour être sur place jusqu'à complétion du chantier."

"This house is only here for us until this building project is done," Marie clarified. "We don't actually live here."

"I see. That's a great idea, actually."

"If there's anything you need, let us know."

"Okay. I think I'll be fine for now. Good night, Miss Marie. Bonne nuit, monsieur Henri."

"Good night, Pelame."

"Bonne nuit Pelame. Je prie pour que ce monstre d'Unod ne perturbe pas ton sommeil. Sache que je te supporte pour que tu la batte, je suis sûr que tu peux le faire."

The two Pokémon left Pelame in the guest bedroom they let her have. Pelame settled into the bed and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N: All French translations were done by Naguro. Thanks again!  
**


	47. Chestebury Tales

**A/N: Once again, a big thanks to Naguro for Henri's French dialogue.**

* * *

Chapter 47 – Chestebury Tales

* * *

_"__Why do you disappoint your legacy, Pelame?"_

_The setting of Pelame's dream was a white void that eventually took on the shape of her hometown of Promised Land. Nobody else was there. This made the identity of the voice speaking to her a complete mystery. The mention of a legacy intrigued her, however._

_"__Do you even know what you were born for?"_

_At that, Pelame saw fit to speak._

_"__No. No one's born for any one purpose. Who are you, anyway?"_

_"__Just think of me as someone who represents what you should be. And what do you mean 'no one's born for any one purpose'? You're telling me you weren't born to be a historian?"_

_"__No, it's just—"_

_"__Then what are you telling me? Are you truly not sure what you've been put on Pocketurn for? Because here I thought you considered yourself certain of your aspiration to be a historian. But look at you now: confused, stressed, and doubtful. Perhaps you should've re-considered this mindset of yours."_

_Before Pelame could inquire further, the dream ended._

* * *

Flygon's struggles were in as much vain this day as it was yesterday. Luckily for those staying in the house whose cellar entrance he was stuck in, there was another way into that area. Its inhabitant brought some breakfast cereal down to him.

"Of all the houses I could've possibly gotten stuck in, I'm overjoyed that it was yours, babe," he said flirtatiously upon seeing that it was Professor Adorbs. "If you get me out of here, I'll show you a great night tonight. I know some great places."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass," Adorbs responded as kindly as she could to mask her disgust at the lecherous remark she just received. "Besides, you can get yourself out. You're capable. It's just that constantly wiggling around isn't going to do the trick."

"I can tell."

"But even though you're to be left here until you escape on your own, we won't let you starve. Hope you like Oran Loops."

"Eh, I can make do with that. Is there sugar on it?"

"Of course not. This stuff has enough of that as it is. Which is why you're getting ordinary water to drink with it."

"Very well."

Adorbs left the trapped salamence with his morning meal.

* * *

"Bien dormi Pelame?" Henri asked.

"Oui," Pelame answered.

"Ta mère est une excellente cuisinière."

"I agree," Marie added. "Miss Neve made an excellent breakfast for all of us. I suppose this is why she asked us for our favorite foods. These Passho Berry waffles are amazing!"

"J'aimerai beaucoup avoir la recette de ces délicieuse gaufres aux baies choco !"  
After breakfast, Pelame, her parents, Henri, and Marie gathered in the house's living room. Mori and his family were already out meeting with the others on the mansion grounds.

"Donc Pelame, Marie, mon équipe et moi avons presque finis de construire la dernière maison. Quand ça seras fini elle vous appartiendra. Marie vas tout vous expliquer." Henri signaled his sister to explain the current situation to Pelame and her family.

"First of all, we're nearly done with the house that will be yours. It'll take us until tonight to finish it. Ordinarily, it'd take two days to finish a house, but we've got our entire crew working on this one, as it's the last remaining one. Not to mention we've got a volunteer helping us. I believe you know her. Her name is Blessing."

"That's nice!" Pelame responded in excitement. "I bet she's been itching for a chance to build something! She's a Llyria Architecture Cum Laude, after all."

"Yep, and that's why we let her be part of this project, along with Euclid."

"Would it be okay if I helped, too?" Pinna asked.

"I suppose so. What building experience do you have?"

"Some army barracks."

"Well, I suppose that could work. Henri, ça va si Mr Pinna vient vous aider? Il a dèjà construit des casernes militaires dans le passé."

"Je suppose que ça ira, il peut venir."

"You're on board, Mister Pinna."

"Thanks," Pinna responded. "Merci."

"In the meantime, Misses Pelame and Neve, why not tour the city?"

"That's a good idea, actually," Pelame said. "I've been wanting to see Pumbloomberg for such a long time. Chestebury would be a great place to start."

"Just watch out for the Big Fat Syndicate of Purple."

"We will. By the way, what's to be done about Flygon being stuck?"

"Oh, we're leaving him there until he escapes. He can get out eventually, and he knows it."

"All right. See you tonight!"

"Oh, wait a minute, Pelame! What about Sanjuro?" Neve reminded. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have him around heckling us."

"That's right… I need another Alpha to temporarily transfer Custody to."

"I'll take control of him!" Pinna joyfully volunteered. "From what little I've seen of that guy and from what your mom told me, he seems like a total jerk. It'll be fun to tame him. I was a lieutenant, after all."

"All right, then." Pelame went up to her father and used her Alpha Power. Neither of them felt a thing when Custody got transferred. "Thanks, Pinna."

"Have fun, you two!" Pinna encouraged of his daughter and wife.

* * *

"So, we've only got the finishing touches to do, huh?" Blessing asked.

"Yep," Marie answered.

"Well, this should be fun. Just make sure none of the others builders whistle or leer at me, okay?"

"Miss Blessing, I can tell you're joking around. I hope you don't keep up like this, because I'm aware of how much pride you have in your body."

"Well, it's only natural. I mean, if you had a butt as perfect as mine, you'd show it off, too, right?"

"No."

"Eh, fair enough. So, first off is the insulation?"

"Yes. We've built the house itself. All that's needed is to put in the plumbing, gas lines, insulation, carpets, and all the electrical stuff. Then we finish up the walls around them, and it's done."

"Cool. We've got enough insulation, right?"

"More than enough. My brother always buys more things than we need. He's pretty obsessive like that."

"I'd probably do the same if I were in his spot. Mind if I do the insulating?"

"Sure. Careful, though."

"Careful of what? Fiberglass?" Blessing went into the area the insulation was to go, but her hips stopped her from finishing her entrance.

"Well, that, and also…" Marie pointed toward Blessing's rear.

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. Guess someone thinner will have to take this one." Though she was unable to go in, she was able to squeeze back out fairly easily. "Good thing this wall's not as tight as that sewer vent. Marie, check me. Do I have any fiberglass splintering me?"

"Nope. You're good."

"All right. I guess I'll help with the carpeting, then. Would that be okay?"

"Certainly. Henri's getting that started right now. Since you're working with him, just be aware he won't understand most of what you say to him, and also vice-versa. Just a few tips: 'démarrer' means 'start', 'arrêter' means 'stop', 'Vous comprenez ?' means 'do you understand?', and 'Arrêtez de vous vanter' means 'quite boasting about your butt'. I'll let him know to use those words exactly, since, as you know, Old Blooman has more than one way to say each of those things." Marie and Blessing met Henri in the living room just as he finished bringing in the carpeting. "Henri, Mademoiselle Blessing va aider avec la moquette."

"Oh, excellent! Les autres constructeurs ont pris les autres tâches, donc je pensais que j'allais ytravailler tout seul." He shook Blessing's hand. "J'accepte votre offre avec joie Mademoiselle."

"He's excited to have you working with him on the carpets," Marie said.

"I can tell. You know, I've never seen a Blooman sneasel before. It's really interesting meeting a member of my own species, but of a different race. I don't mean that in a bad way, of course." Blessing suddenly started blushing and put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, goodness, I hope I didn't accidentally say something racist."

"Racist? Why would commenting on how intrigued you are meeting another race be racist?"

"I don't know. I just felt like it was, for some reason."

"It's not, Miss Blessing. You're okay." Marie faced her brother. "Tout va bien Henri. Elle était juste inquiète de nous avoir offensé en montrant son intérêt par apport à notre rencontre."

"Hein ? En quoi c'est offensant ?"

"Elle a dit qu'elle était intéressé par les différences entre les différentes origines d'une même espèce. Elle pensait que c'était un peu raciste."

"Quoi ?! C'était loin d'être raciste! Je ressens la même chose, rencontrer un farfuret du royaume Twilight est vraiment interessant, mais ce n'est pas raciste pour autant! Dis lui que ce n'est pas important, je ne veux pas qu'elle s'en inquiète."

"Je l'ai déjà fais mais je vais lui répéter." Marie faced Blessing. "You're okay, Miss Blessing. Henri's not offended. In fact, he's as intrigued meeting you, a Twilit sneasel, as you are meeting him, a Blooman sneasel. And you can stop covering your own mouth now."

"Thank goodness… gosh, what a faux pas that could have been…" Blessing said in relief.

"Au fait Henri, je lui ai expliqué la signification des mots: 'démarrer', 'arrêter', 'Vous comprenez?', and 'Arrêtez de vous vanter'"

"Pourquoi lui as tu expliqué la dernière ?"

"Parcequ'on m'as dit qu'elle avait l'habitude de le faire. Elle est assez fière d'elle. J'ai eu ce sentiments quand elle a blagué sur le fait que les autres ouvriers allaient peut etre lorgner sur ses fesse."

"Beurk… Elle croit en ce vieux stéréotype du Royaume non ?"

"Peut-être. Ou elle faisait simplement une blague salace sur son corps, je sais pas. Le fait est qu'elle a prouvé être un peu trop fière de son corps. Prends en juste note. Et retiens ces mots. Je lui ai dit ce que ces mots veulent dire en Pocketurn Moderne. Je vais t'aider avec l'isolation."

"D'accord."

Marie left to go help with the insulation.

"Voila Mademoiselle Blessing, je vais commencer par ici." Henri said, pointing to the left side of the room. "Et vous par là." He pointed to the right side. "On se rejoint au mileu et ce seras bon." He pointed to the middle of the room. "Vous comprenez?"

Blessing nodded. She took her spot in the right side of the room while Henri went to the left with some carpeting. It was already trimmed down to size, and the room was already prepared and cleaned. All they had to do was apply the carpet itself and tamp it down onto the ground. The two got to work doing that, pressing the carpeting down onto the ground and therefore adhering it to the floor. Blessing worked quite quickly and got her half of the room carpeted before Henri got his part done. She ended up crossing into his section and bumping bottom-first into his bottom. The two glanced at each other through their legs.

"Dèjà fini ?" Henri asked.

Blessing nodded, hoping she was giving an adequate response.

"Wow, vous travaillez vite."

The two stood up straight.

"Sooo… how'd my butt feel bumping into yours?"

Henri looked at Blessing in confusion. He simply shrugged in confusion. She pointed to his rear.

"Hein ? Qu'est ce qu'il y a avec vos fesses? Aet ça ne m'a pas vraiment plus que nos deux arrière-train se rencontres. Ça n'as pas fait mal, c'était juste embarrassant."

"I really gotta learn your language…"

* * *

"Oh, you want to learn Old Blooman?" Neve asked her daughter as the two of them finished their Sitrus Yogurt cups. The two found time to chat at a local Vanilluxe's Chilly Cup ice cream and yogurt parlor.

"Of course," Pelame answered her mother. "It's a very neat language. Plus, now that we're living with someone who speaks it, it's practical. Also, I don't want to rely exclusively on Marie for translations. Not that I don't trust her, it's just that I don't want to constantly hassle her about it."

"I understand, though I don't think she's bothered by having to translate. But it would be good to trust your own judgement. Let's go to the Livroudou, then."

"All right. By the way, mom, how do you like Blooman sweets?"

"Well, all I can say is I understand how they got their world-famous reputation. It's really good."

The two Pokémon wiped their mouths on their provided napkins and left for the book store directly next door. It was moderately-sized.

"Reminds me of the Booklytuff store back at home," Pelame noted. She and her mother tracked down the Foreign Languages section of the store and found a wide selection of brands teaching each language. She focused on the Old Blooman packages. "Probably should've asked Marie for her input on this…"

"Well, if she's up to it, why not ask her to tutor you in addition to using a book?" Neve suggested.

"That's a great idea, actually. I just hope I pick a package here that she can work with. You know that was my problem in school."

"Yeah, apart from just not caring for certain subjects."

"True." Pelame mainly thought of her old Combat classes as she gave that response. Pondering her choices, she eventually decided to pick the Pyramid Mountain package. "You know, I remember putting on my résumé when I applied to TIGHS that I had a good grasp on the old languages. I guess not having to use them made me rusty."

"Well, your Old Blooman's sure to be on the way to being polished up."

Pelame nodded in agreement. She and her mother made their purchase and left the store. On their way out, they accidentally bumped the store's door into a rather portly and slimy Pokémon. It was a goodra, though he was abnormally fat. By his having one long green oval-shaped spot on both his cheeks and both sides of the base of his tail, it was obvious that he was Blooman. He was wearing a fancy purple suit made of donated cinccino fur. The collar of the suit was light blue, which matched his hat. As soon as the door hit him, he accidentally spilled his Razz Yogurt onto his suit, adding a red spot onto it. He glared down at Pelame and Neve.

"I'm so sorry, sir," Pelame said quickly and sincerely.

The goodra had none of it, though. His glare intensified as he grabbed the spot of his suit that was spilled on and showed it to Pelame and Neve.

"Authentic cinccino and furfrou fur went into making this coat," he seethed. "Do you know how expensive this suit was?! And how much it's gonna cost me to have this stain removed?!"

"It hasn't stained yet," Neve said. "Here, we can clean that off if we act quickly enough—"

"Get away from me, slob!" The big goodra quickly stepped back and swung at Neve with Dragon Tail. Pelame quickly rushed forward and blocked his attack with an Alpha Barrier. Upon seeing this display of power, the goodra's fury turned into fear. He turned tail and ran off.

"What's his problem?" Neve wondered.

"Don't know," Pelame answered. "But he sure seems to fear my Alpha Power. He might be a Demon-type."

"Pardon me, ladies," said a quickly approaching heracross. "That goodra who was accosting you; where'd he go?"

"I think he turned down that corner." Pelame pointed toward the intersection labeled Fenda Road and Berry Way. "Down Fenda Road."

"Thanks, ma'am." The heracross continued his pursuit. Pelame had noticed he had a badge on his horn, signaling that he was a police officer. She started running after him, and Neve followed. Neve knew her daughter's suspicions, which was why she kept herself from pressing her for details. The three of them eventually cornered the fancily-dressed goodra in an alley. Noticing his situation, he crawled into a nearby vent on the base of the building to his left and tried squeezing into it. Surprising everyone, he fit into it by turning into a mucus-like substance and flowing into it. Pelame had expected this, so she ended up being more surprised that his suit and hat somehow came along with him. She placed an Alpha Barrier further down into the vent, blocking the culprit's escape. He had no choice but to turn back and transform back into his usual form.

"Please don't Purify me!" the goodra cowered. "I need this power!"

The heracross officer got out some arm cuffs and slapped them onto the goodra's wrists. The cuffs covered the suspect's entire arms. One turn of the key in each cuff's locks, and they tightened, securing the criminal.

"He'd slip out of normal cuffs," the officer said. He turned to face the criminal he apprehended. "You, Big Fat Slimy Purple, are under arrest for armed robbery of the Lada in Luttney, and illegal trafficking of fashion items and many other products. *snicker* How long did you think you could keep this up?"

"Well, I just know it's not stopping anytime soon!"

The goodra stomped his foot on the ground, creating a flash of darkness. Though it lasted for only a split-second, he was able to escape.

"He got away again…" the heracross officer grumbled.

"You've been after him for a while, huh?" Neve asked.

"Yes. He's a member of the Big Fat Syndicate of Purple. His gang's been shady-dealing in expensive goods of all kinds. Plus, they all have that Dark Blessing."

"I was afraid of that…" Pelame said, scared. "But I have to wonder why anyone would still want it even after _IT LITERALLY TOLD THE WORLD THAT IT'S GOING TO DESTROY IT!_"

"Oh, you heard that rubbish, too?"

"The whole world heard it! It's not going to happen! I'm not letting it!"

With a mixture of anger and determination, Pelame stormed off. Neve respectfully gave the officer an apologetic bow.

"She means nothing to you by her outburst," Neve said. "It's just that she's been targeted by the Dark Blessing. It's tried to ruin everything for her and has even attempted to murder her."

"I understand. I hope she'll be okay."

* * *

"You know, I highly doubt the tenants living here are enjoying seeing my butt like this!" Flygon complained. "Don't you care about them?"

"Yes, which is why we're not all that inclined to free you, Flygon," Snapper explained to the trapped salamence's face. "It's no secret that you treat us all like junk, and in the case of the women, objects. We don't appreciate that."

"Well, you live on _my_ property, after all! My wife and I _own_ you all!"

"No, you do not. You may own our houses by proxy, but you don't own the Pokémon living inside them. We've never had a problem with rent payment—"

"Okay, you're right about that…"

"But you shouldn't be adding to it for such ridiculous reasons. For goodness' sake, you raised _my_ rent just because I kindly refused to have lunch with you. Besides, I know you were just inviting me to lunch just so you could try to talk me into satisfying your desire to see my hindquarters."

"Well, don't blame _me_ for your amazing rear! How do you expect me to control myself around it?!"

"Your wife may not be that kind a Pokémon herself, but you ought to appreciate her. Maybe she'll show you more kindness if you show her some yourself."

"And how exactly how can I do that when I'm stuck here?!"

"Well, I have a proposition for you. I've discussed this with Henri and Marie already, and they approved." Snapper showed Flygon a contract.

"Ah, okay, so in order to get free, I have to agree to all this?"

"Yep. It's not too much to ask, is it?"

"Well, kinda. I mean, all the ladies here look so good, though…"

"Compliments every now and then are okay, as it says on there, but no leering. There's a difference between 'you look great today!' and 'let me stare at you…', you know. And as for the rent, you can see that it says—"

"I can read, thank you! 'No more adding to the rent for invalid reasons'! I GET IT! NOW GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"So, do you agree to that? It's rather simple, being as there's only three stipulations on that contract: no harassment, no extortion, and no cruel and unusual treatment."

"All right, all right, fine… got a pen?"

"Not on me right now, but I know someone who does." Snapper turned to the other entrance to the basement. "He's ready!"

Down the stairs came a ralts with a pen.

"This is Fred. He notarized this contract while we made it, and now he's going to notarize your signing of it. Just to be sure you don't back out of it or renege on it later on."

"Really enjoying the browbeating, eh?"

"Frankly, you're lucky nobody reported you to Luttney Yard," Fred said. "You could say this is your final chance before it comes to that. Here's a pen for you."

"And once I sign this, you'll help me get un-stuck?"

"That's the deal."

Flygon grumbled as he signed the contract under Fred's supervision. Fred then put his stamp on it, making it official.

"All done!"

"Good, now GET ME OUT!"

"Calm down, it's really simple," Snapper said gently. "In fact, you might be very upset when you realize that if you'd done this in the first place, you'd have been free long ago."

"I tried everything already, though!"

"Nope, not everything. Try sucking your belly in."

"You serious?"

"Just do it."

"All right all right all right!"

Flygon inhaled, sucking in his belly. As soon as he did so, he slid right through, landing flat on his chin in the basement. He stood up, looking very irritated.

"So, that's _really_ all I needed to do?"

"Uh-huh."

"…whatever." Sucking his belly in once again, he exited the basement. As he went back to his house, he saw that another smaller house had been finished. He paid no attention to it. More than that, he was surprised that it was already nighttime. He went into his house.

"Hey, hon, I'm finally home," Flygon greeted.

His wife was a flygon, the species he named himself after. She had no wings.

"Hey there," she responded.

"'Hey there'? That's all you can say to me? I've been gone for—"

"…more than a day? Sorry, but I wasn't counting. It's been rather quiet in here. But it is good to have you back, though. What made them finally see fit to release you?"

"Well, I just had to sign a notarized contract forbidding me from making passes at the ladies, raising their rent for arbitrary reasons, and generally treating them cruelly for no reason. I guess they think I'm some kind of boor."

"They have no clue what they're talking about. You really think they know anything? They're freeloaders of the worst kind. 'Ooo nyoooo…My kyiiingg weeeent nyeeeetz! Hyeeeeelp meeeee!' Is there any worse excuse than that to move in on our property?!"

"Well, to be fair, they could be worse. At least they respect that this mansion is ours."

"Oh, like _that_ means anything! Look, this property is ours and ours alone. We need to make that clear to them. We can do that by getting that contract from them and keeping it out of their reach."

"But Higon, hon, it's notarized! We'd never get away with it! Besides, I've already been in jail!"

"You worry too much, hon." Higon's tail began to glow pink and started generating a small heart. She touched Flygon's chin with it, changing his demeanor.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. So, how do we get it?"

"Well, as this property is mainly yours, you'll have to do it. Find out who's keeping the contract, snag it from them, and burn it."

"Sounds good to me. I'll get right on it!"

Flygon left to go do his deed. He made sure not to be seen as he snuck into Henri and Marie's house once he found that they were keeping the contract. Remembering the bit of advice Snapper gave him, he sucked his belly in and fit perfectly through their front door. He did the same once he made it to their bedroom. He began searching the room for the contract, coming across a small box of cash along the way. Through the wads of money, he could see the contract under it all. He began digging through the money to reach the contract. He didn't get far, though.

"Wow, Flygon," Marie said, livid. "You couldn't even go one night without breaking the contract. And not only that, but you're even stealing money from me, too."

Flygon was suddenly very disoriented.

"What the—what am I doing in your house?!" he demanded.

"Yeah, don't even try it." Marie picked up the phone and called the police. Flygon attempted to escape through the window, but he was too big to fit through it. This time, sucking his belly in didn't help. "Hello, officer. Our landlord just tried to steal a lot of money from me, violated a notarized contract we put him under, and broke a window of my house."

"We'll be right there, madam," said the officer on the other line.

"Not AGAIN!" Flygon shouted as he tried to squirm his way free. His body wouldn't yield. He kept at it for the next eight minutes it took for the police to arrive and free him themselves. They quickly arrested him and loaded him into a huge truck big enough to fit him. "What's going on here?! I don't know how I got in Marie's house! I swear it!"

"Put a sock in it, light-claws!" commanded the heracross officer as he shut the truck trailer's door. He drove off with the salamence in custody. Higon had witnessed all this from her bedroom window.

_"__Finally, this house is mine!"_ she thought to herself, satisfied. _"Now, I just need to get those freeloaders off the lawn."_ She got onto a computer in the mansion's office room and began composing an email.

_"__To Big Fat Slimy Purple,  
I've got a well-paying job for you and your pals. I think you'll find it much more rewarding than trying to drown a Blooman-speaking sneasel. Meet me at our usual spot._

_Sincerely,  
Little Thin Running Green."_


	48. Big, Fat, and Purple

Chapter 48 – Big, Fat, and Purple

* * *

"You little rebels just keep getting more and more ridiculous in how you think you're actually going to overthrow us," Keldeo taunted at the honchkrow he just captured and brought before the Twilight King.

"And you tyrannical maniacs are getting more ridiculous in how you think the world's gonna be yours!" the rebellious honchkrow shot back.

"Sire, you want to execute this one?"

"Sure," the Twilight King responded. "I need the practice before our big invasion, anyway." The King stood up and struck the honchkrow dead with Demon Lightning.

"Great shot, sire!"

"We need to be in top form when we invade Pumbloomberg. Is the weapon ready?"

"Yes, sire. But we need a way to transport it. We're working on that part now."

"What is that?" The King looked at the dead honchkrow and noticed something was on his back. He took it from the corpse. It appeared to be a fossil of some kind. "Who exactly was this rebel, anyway?"

"Oh, just some excavator. He was aiding refugees by allowing them to use his tunnels to escape from us. He must have found this fossil." Keldeo and the King took a closer look at the fossil. "Have any ideas what this is, sire?"

"Not a clue. There exists no record of this Pokémon having a name."

"I see. You know, this might help us out somehow. What if we make this the weapon's transportation?"

"Well, if you and Amongele can make it work, then go ahead."

"Thanks, sire!"

* * *

"Okay, twig lady, what's the deal?" Big Fat Slimy Purple demanded of Higon, who met him in the Syndicate's mysterious hideout. "What have you got for me?"

"As you know, until recently, I was married to a very rich salamence by the name of Flygon," Higon explained. "I got him arrested, which, by this city's laws, means he is automatically divorced from his spouse, and the spouse gets the belongings of the arrested spouse. Basically, I own his house, money, and assets. So I can pay you very nicely."

"For what?! Get to it already!"

"I want to keep that house and everything about it all to myself. I like living rich and alone. But, you see, there are refugees from various countries living on my house's front lawn. Worse still, local builders actually gave them houses to live in on my lawn. My husband permitted it only because he had his eye on the women moving in. So what I want you to do is destroy all the houses, which will force them to move away and leave me alone."

"That seems doable. How much is this worth?"

"I think this job can go for one million Pokéns. How's that sound?"

"You've got a deal."

"Excellent. By the way, don't be afraid to fight the inhabitants back if you have to. I just want them gone."

"Got it. They shouldn't be tough. You got the money? I don't do jobs unless I get the cash up front."

"Here's the first half of the payment now. You'll get the rest after the job's done."

"Fine then…"

"Good. Thanks." Higon left the hideout, leaving the portly goodra to his business.

"Okay, boys, you got all that?"

"Yep," responded the fat noivern. "Though, boss, I know your body slime has all kinds of gross stuff in it, but use a toilet every once in a while!"

"Why should I? My body uses slime to eliminate. I can't make biggies like the rest of you."

"Hey, I can't make any, either," added a gengar. "No part of my ghostly body can make one!"

"All right, enough! Big Fat Shouty Purple and Big Fat Scary Purple, get Big Fat Slappy Purple off his butt and get going!"

"Gotcha, Slimy!" responded both Shouty and Scary.

"And quit forgetting the Syndicate Rule: full names always!"

"Gotcha, Big Fat Slimy Purple!"

On the goodra's order, the gengar and noivern went into a room inhabited by a small but overweight aipom. The room had lots of drawing of female Pokémon with hip proportions that were nowhere near modest.

"Hey, Big Fat Slappy Purple! We've got a job to do!" Big Fat Shouty Purple announced, frightening the aipom.

"Having fun gawking at your creepy dream date fantasies?" Big Fat Scary Purple taunted.

"N-no! B-but don't sneak up on me like that!" Big Fat Slappy Purple scolded. "You trying to make my heart stop?!"

"With as much candy floss as you've gorged yourself on, I'm surprised your fat-encrusted heart is even beating right now. To think I thought _Big Fat Shouty Purple_ was desperate to join this Syndicate."

"Well, I wanted what _you_ guys have! Can't blame me for that, can you?!"

"All right, all right, bloody Suffering! Can we just go now?!"

"Yeah, alright, I'm coming." The aipom struggled to stand up. His small body could barely compensate for his large stomach and hindquarters. The sight of it drew laughter from his fellow Syndicate cronies. "*hah hah* So… *hah* what's the job, then?"

"Something fairly simple," answered Big Fat Shouty Purple. "Not even _you_ could banjax it."

* * *

"I'm telling you guys, you've got me all wrong!" Flygon pleaded with the constables as they placed him in a prison cell. "I don't know how I ended up inside that charmander lady's house! I swear it! Can't you try me again with better evidence?"

"Better evidence?! HAH!" laughed one of the three clefable constables. "You're dead-to-rights, tosser! Womanizing, harassment, extortion, and now breaking and entering; yeah, you had no chance whatsoever of getting acquitted! With _that_ many charges, you're lucky the judge gave you a three-year sentence, let alone that the trial even lasted two hours! You should've known how strict we are about law enforcement here in Chestebury, especially when it comes to harassment! Women aren't objects!" With that, the officers tossed Flygon into the cell. They quickly followed him in and put Inopsite shackles onto his feet, and then attached them to a long chain connected to the ground. He was still able to walk around, but not for any farther than a radius of about two meters. "By the way, per the city's laws, your wife gains everything that belonged to you. As you're one of the richest Pokémon in this whole city, that sure makes you especially stupid for doing what you did, considering how much you had to lose. You sure are one miserable and dumb Pokémon. Spend the next three years mulling _that_ over." The clefable constables left the cell and shut it. Flygon sat down on the cold metal ground, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

_"__This can't be happening to me…"_

* * *

"He did _WHAT_?!" Pelame asked loudly and incredulously of Marie.

"Yep, he really couldn't go a single day without being pleasant," Marie clarified. "You and your mom sure are lucky you weren't here to see it."

"Maybe we could've stopped him…"

"Well, that no longer matters now. Hopefully jail will teach him a lesson in manners."

"D'ailleurs Pelame, votre maison est fini! Votre père et ce méchant amphinobi ont été une aide immense, tout comme votre ami Blessing." Henri interjected.

"Oh, right! Merci de me le rappeler Henri! Pelame, your house is finished!"

"I saw that when Mom and I came back. Thanks so much, Marie! Merci beaucoup Henri!"

"De rien, mademoiselle Pelame. Nous sommes heureux d'aider. Enfin tout le monde à ârt cet amphinobi."

"Want to go see it?" Marie asked.

"Certainly!"

Marie and Henri showed Pelame to her new home, which was located on the end of the left row of houses, closest to the giant mansion now owned by Higon. It looked like the rest of them.

"It looks no different from the other houses on the outside," Pelame said. Following Marie and Henri inside and getting a look at the interior and every room within made her add, "And neither does the inside."

"Is that okay?" Marie asked.

"Oh, certainly! I'm just happy to have some living quarters. And honestly, I prefer nice little two-floor houses like this. I really wouldn't like to live in that giant castle-sized mansion staring at all these houses."

"Two floors? But there's only one."

"I know. Sorry, I forgot that Pumbloomberg counts building floors differently from how the Twilight Kingdom does. Anyway, this house looks great! Thanks so much!"

"It was our pleasure, Miss Pelame. If you need anything at all, just let us know."

With that, Henri and Marie left. Pelame settled down into the bed and went to sleep. It was only 9:00p.m. Blooman Time, but her energy had been spent.

* * *

Later on that night, Higon intently watched the houses, waiting for the last of the lights to go off and let her know everyone was asleep. At 12:23a.m., exactly that happened. She got onto the phone and made a call.

"You there, Slimy?" she asked.

"Yes, Running," Big Fat Slimy Purple answered. "I've got my other syndicate members here, too. We're about three blocks away. We'll be there within six minutes."

"Good. Now's your chance to earn the other half of the payment. Lay waste to all these houses."

"You got it."

Both Pokémon hung up. Higon then went through the house and tore out all the phones from their phone plugs, and then destroyed them. She then replaced each one with brand new phones. With the new one she placed in the kitchen, she made another call.

"Constables! Come quickly! The Big Fat Syndicate of Purple is attacking!"

* * *

Right on cue, the Syndicate arrived in the time they predicted.

"You know, Big Fat Slimy Purple, why do _you_ get to wear a fancy suit and _we_ have to go naked?" complained Big Fat Slappy Purple. "And also, why don't you wear something on your lower half?"

"Don't be silly," Big Fat Slimy Purple answered. "No such type of clothing exists. Besides, I lead the Syndicate, so I get the best perks. Now get ready to attack, everyone."

The four members lined up and readied their attacks. Slimy got a Dragon Pulse ready, Shouty readied a Boomburst, Scary readied a Dark Pulse, and Slappy readied a Shadow Ball. They all launched their attacks at the first house in the row on the left, which was the one Professor Adorbs, Blessing, and Treasure were staying in. The three of them awoke with a start, as did all the other inhabitants when subsequent attacks hit their houses. Significant damage was done to each house, rendering them dangerously unstable and warranting everyone inside to escape. But before the Syndicate could finish leveling the houses, the police arrived and ambushed them, cuffing them once they got the chance. Higon came out of her mansion, acting confused.

"What's going on here? What's the Big Fat Syndicate of Purple doing here?!" she demanded.

"WHAT?! YOU CALLED US HERE!" Slimy defended.

"How dare you?! What a ridiculous accusation that is!"

"ACCUSATION?! We talked on the phone, you traitor—"

"Wow, what desperate rubbish!" interjected one of the clefable constables. "You really think Higon, one of Chestebury's richest and nicest citizens, would associate with scum like you?"

"Not a chance!" Higon added. "Why would I work with a thief who stole 500,000 Pokéns from me!"

"WHAT THE—_YOU PAID ME_ THAT MONEY TO DO THIS!"

"Oh, shut up! Constable, gag him before he spouts off more lies."

"Gladly," responded the constable. "I'm getting sick of his whining anyway."

"YOU SET US UP, YOU B—mmm!" the plastic bar being shoved into Slimy's mouth interrupted him. The constables did the same with the other syndicate members as they loaded them into the paddy wagon.

"Thank you, Miss Higon," the constable said. "Thanks to you, we finally caught them."

"No problem, constable," Higon responded. "Now I can finally get some peace and quiet. But it is a shame about all these Pokémon, though. Their houses are too damaged to live in…"

"Oh, we can refurbish them," Marie offered.

"And we'll all help," Blessing offered. "I know I only helped build one, but I've gotten to love building houses."

"That's quite nice of you all," the constable complimented. "I hope everyone gets their houses back. And by the way, would one of you happen to be Pelame?"

"Yes, that's me," Pelame answered.

"We've been entrusted with a package for you." He gave it to her. "It's from the President."

"Thanks!"

"My pleasure. And don't worry about the Syndicate—"

"Just a moment. Officer—uh, I mean…constable? May I see them for a moment, please?"

"What for? They're dangerous, you know."

"I know. But I need to see them. I have a way to make them less dangerous."

"You do? How?"

"I'll explain later. I just need in there before they escape." Pelame noticed a small puddle of goo leaking out of the doors of the wagon. Recognizing it, she caught it in an Alpha Barrier.

"Well, let me and my fellows here guard you."

"Okay."

The constables opened the wagon's doors. Pelame tossed the goo puddle back into it and blocked the open passage with an Alpha Barrier.

"Don't worry; we can walk through it." Big Fat Slappy Purple attempted to exit the vehicle. He smacked face-first into the Barrier, hurting his nose. "_They_ can't, though." Pelame entered with the constables following her. She readied her Alpha Power and Purified each and every one, one by one. "They won't be any more trouble now."

"Wait a minute, was that Alpha Power?" asked one of the constables.

"Yes. I just removed the Syndicate members' Dark Blessings."

"No wonder the President wants to see you! You should get going on your way!"

"I have plans to pretty soon."

Pelame and the constables left the wagon and shut its doors after Pelame let down her Barrier. They drove off with their new arrests.

"Unbelievable…" Higon complained. "That they'd _dare_ accuse me of association!" She re-composed herself. "I'm sorry about what happened to your houses."

"Would it be okay if we stayed the night in your house?" Adorbs asked.

"NO!" Higon noticed how loudly she shouted that. "Sorry, but…Flygon and I moved into it together, and…you know…he recently let me down…too many memories, you know?"

"I understand. We'll just go find a motel, then."

"Forget that! You can all stay with Henri and I," Marie offered. "Est-ce qu'ils peuvent tous rester chez nous cette nuit Henri?"

"Je suppose, mais on va être serré." Henri answered. "Ils seront d'accord avec ça?"

"Je vais demander." Marie addressed everyone. "Our house is only barely bigger than these ones we built for you, so it'll be rather cramped if you all stay in simultaneously. Is that okay?"

"Well, why don't some of us stay with you two, and some of us stay in a motel?" Professor Henry offered. "I'd be fine in a motel."

"Me, too," Torden and his mother added together.

"Us, too," offered Adorbs, Blessing, and Treasure.

"I'm one of the biggest ones here," Snapper said. "I'd take up too much space, anyway, so I'll go to a motel, too."

"I think that'll leave enough space in our house, then," Marie said. She turned to Henri. "Henry, Torden, Pauline, Adorbs, Blessing, Treasure et Snapper vont aller dormir dans un motel cette nuit, comme ça on ne manqueras pas trop de place."

"Je vois. De toute façon, peut-importe comme ils s'arrangent, ils sont les bienvenus chez nous."

Marie nodded. "Okay, everyone, we've got a plan."

Those going to a motel sought one out in the city, and those staying with Henri and Marie followed them to their house. Higon watched as they all left.

_"__Don't you _dare_ return,"_ Higon thought to herself, satisfied. She went back into her house. In the mansion's foyer, a Dark Eye greeted her, turning her into Mortite.

* * *

"By the way, Pelame, what did the President send you?" Neve asked.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot!" Pelame responded. She opened the package she received and found lots of papers and a passport inside.

_"__To Pelame,_

_I am pleased to hear that you have arrived safely here in Pumbloomberg. I have been informed of such by Emperor Kentahito and his daughter Princess Jurihito, who stopped in earlier today (well, today as of when I wrote this letter; it may reach you late). Don't worry about them; they are perfectly safe here in Maison Pumbloom, as are the remaining World Leaders. We still have yet to rescue Queen Mkono, though._

_The Emperor has brought to my attention that your branding as a traitor to the Twilight Kingdom has resulted in the revocation of all your credentials and your citizenship. Therefore, I have had you made an official Citizen of Pumbloomberg, and I have seen to the re-instatement of your Degree in Historical Studies. All of those are enclosed in this package, as well as a new passport and identity cards. On behalf of my country, I welcome you and your family and friends. Bring them by whenever you can. I hope to see you soon._

_Sincerely,  
President Cadence of Pumbloomberg"_

"How nice!" Neve responded. "Yes, definitely! Let's go tomorrow! Want to, hon?"

"Sure!" Pinna responded.

"All right, we've got a travel plan for tomorrow!" Pelame added.


	49. The Capital of Pumbloomberg

Chapter 49 – The Capital of Pumbloomberg

* * *

Pelame was roused awake by the screams of terror coming from outside the house. Though none of them were coming from anyone she knew, it still wasn't a good sign. And as soon as she heard the sound of falling heavy rubble, she knew something really terrible was happening. She jumped out of bed and took a look outside. A sheet of Mortite was creeping along the ground toward their current location. Dark Eyes were turning numerous Pokémon into Mortite statues. Smaller Mortite spires were jutting out from the sides of the buildings and firing off energy shots. Soon, Pelame was dragged away from the window.

"Come on, Pelame, we gotta get out of here!" Pinna cried, worried.

Pelame followed her parents outside, where everyone else was. Zeki had Zaki's still-unconscious body on her back. They all were joined by the ones who had stayed in a motel.

"Just don't look into the Eyes, and we'll be fine!" Pelame ordered. She got out her Eon Flute and played it. _"I hope they haven't become Mortite…"_ She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them perfectly well. _"Thank Arceus." _The two had on harnesses that were connected to wagons being carried behind them.

"Long time, no see, Pelame!" Latias joyfully greeted. "Where to—"

"MAISON PUMBLOOM! DON'T LOOK INTO THE DARK EYES!" Pelame belted out.

"Gotcha," Latios answered. "It'll be a bit of a long trip since we have lots of Pokémon to carry. Good thing we picked up these wagon-harnesses. Climb on."

Everyone did so.

"How are these staying up?" Torden asked.

"Strong supports," Blessing answered. "These harnesses must have been expensive."

"Kinda. 70,000 Pokéns isn't loose pocket change. Now let's go!"

The Eon Duo took off as soon as the passengers buckled up.

"Reaching Maison Pumbloom will take about 45 minutes, so relax, everyone," Latias said.

"By the way, Latias, between you and your brother, who flies faster?" Torden asked.

"I do," Latios answered.

"Then why slow down?"

"Well, obviously, I don't want us to get separated."

"Plus, I don't want to be staring directly into my brother's big blue butt for an entire flight."

"Sis, please don't…"

"Take it from me, guys: it's not a pleasant sight."

"Eh, I think it looks kinda cute," Sanjuro interjected, patting Latios's rear end.

"Hey, stop that!" Latios ordered as Sanjuro gave a mean-spirited giggle. "And where'd you come from, anyway?"

"Custody teleportation. I've been in that house Pelame stayed in since last night."

"Oh, that reminds me…" Pinna transferred Custody back to Pelame. "I can take it back if you want."

"No thanks," Pelame answered. "I can handle him."

"Oh, joy…" Sanjuro complained.

"Je ne peux pas croire que ce soit entrain d'arriver..." Henri said sadly. "Qu'est ce que c'est de toute façon ?" Henri looked at Pelame. "Vous avez étudié cette chose pas vrai?"

"My brother wants to know about the…uh…" Marie turned back to her brother. "Qu'est ce que tu voulais savoir à propos de la Mortite ?"

"Tout. Qu'est ce qui la fait apparaître, et qu'est ce qu'est la "Dark Blessing" exactement."

Marie nodded to confirm her brother's request and then turned back to Pelame. "He wants to know everything about Mortite and the Dark Blessing. Every single detail."

"I see…" Pelame answered. "Well, I've got lots to go over, so I hope you're in the mood to translate the verbal equivalent of a novella."

"Fire away."

At Marie's insistence, Pelame explained everything she knew about the Dark Blessing, making sure to include her own experiences with being attacked by it and fighting it. It made for quite a long conversation since Marie had to translate for her brother. By the time all was said and done, the Eon Duo entered the jurisdiction of Luttney.

"Quel Calvaire..." was all Henri could say.

"Je sais Henri..."" Pelame responded.

"Penser qu'elle frappe ici aussi maintenant… Chestebury est quasiment enterré sous cette chose- Attendez une minute..." Henri then remembered someone. "FLYGON! Il ets toujours a Chestebury! On doit le sauver!"

"Oh mon dieu tu as raison ! Latios, take Pelame to Buryshire Detention Facility! Flygon's there, and he could become Mortite!"

"Okay, but I'll have to set some of you down first," Latios responded. He made a quick landing and let off everyone except Pelame, her parents, and Sanjuro.

"Oh, okay. I'm coming along, then without a chance to say 'absolutely not?'" Sanjuro complained.

"How weird, Sanjuro," Pelame teased. "I thought you'd jump at the chance to prove how 'awesome' you are."

"Well, I'd much rather be doing that by beating you in battle, Pelame. But if a simple thankless rescue mission will get me _some_ recognition, let's get it over with."

"That's the spirit, Sanjuro!"

Latios then took off with his lightened load of passengers.

"Wow, Pelame, you're really good at taming this guy," Pinna complimented his daughter.

"'Taming.' You flatter her too much. I may be in her custody, but I'm definitely not under her control."

"Whatever you say."

* * *

"HELP ME! I DON'T WANNA BE MORTITE!" Flygon screamed in terror as he attempted to break out of his shackles. The Mortite had reached his cell and was getting close to him. His desperation to escape turned into outright panic. "STAY AWAY FROM ME! DON'T TURN ME INTO YOU!"

Latios set his passengers down at the entrance to the facility. Pelame and Pinna pooled their Alpha Power together to get through the Mortite covering the front door and then Pinna broke it down with a Double-Edge attack.

"You could've left the door to me, you know," Sanjuro griped. "I'm better built."

"Then put up or shut up," Neve scolded. "You're indoors with Pelame, so you have complete freedom of roaming."

"That I do. See you later, or until you leave." Sanjuro ran off.

"You know, maybe we should split up," Pinna suggested. "We'll cover more ground that way."

"Good idea," Pelame responded. "If anyone else has become Mortite, we can save them, too. Go back to Latios when you're done, and we'll all meet up there."

"What about Sanjuro?" Neve asked.

"As soon as I leave, he'll be teleported outside with me."

"All right. Let's get going."

Pelame and Pinna activated their Alpha Power, with Neve using Helping Hand to boost her husband's power. "I'll be going with Pinna."

"Yeah, I'll need that Helping Hand boost to catch up to you, dear," Pinna said to his daughter. "Together, we'll both get this jail Purified."

"Excellent idea. All right, here we go."

Pelame took the east wing of the jail and her parents took the west wing, repelling the Mortite as they went. Pelame followed the sound of Flygon's panicked screaming to navigate through the facility to find him. When she reached him, he was already being petrified. The Mortite had reached his neck. He could only move his head around.

Pelame had two of the prison guards flanking her by the time she made it to Flygon's cell. They unlocked the door for her and allowed her in to rescue the prisoner. When the Mortite retreated from the terrified salamence, it also retreated from the room itself.

"You saved me… thanks…" Flygon said, nearly crying.

"Come on, we need to get going!" Pelame responded. She turned to the guards. "Come with us. We'll transfer this guy to a jail in Luttney."

"Sounds like a deal," responded one of the guards. "You got a way to do it?"

"Yeah, I have a ride. Let's get out of here."

As soon as Pelame, the guards, and Flygon (who was dragged out by the guards) arrived and boarded Latios's wagon, Pinna and Neve joined them soon after. Sanjuro appeared once Pelame left the building.

"Yeah yeah yeah, just get your spiel over with now," Sanjuro said irritably.

"So, how'd you do, Sanjuro?" Pelame asked as Latios took off.

"Uh, can you make a quick stop at Loudly Detention Center?" asked one of the guards.

"Sure," Latios answered. "It's nice that it's on the way to Maison Pumbloom."

"My turn! Pelame asked _me_ something first!" Sanjuro interrupted. "Now then, before you left the building and called me to you, I was busy rescuing your helpless parents from an advancing sheet of Mortite! If you'd have seen it, you'd have swooned over my amazing skills rescuing them!"

"I guess it's good she _wasn't_ there, then!" Pinna retorted. "Or actually, no, I wish she _was_ there to see what _truly_ happened!"

"Yeah, dear, Sanjuro would've hated for Pelame to see him have to be saved from the advancing Mortite," Neve added. "Boy, did he embarrass himself trying to break free when it got his legs."

"Oh, yeah! That was so funny!" said a gengar suddenly appearing from Pelame's shadow.

"Tastebud?!" Pelame gasped in shock.

"Yep, I'm going back to my original name, dearie! No more of that 'Big Fat Scary Purple' rubbish! No more Big Fat Syndicate of Purple. And by the way, you may want to get on them, because they escaped."

"Well, thanks for the tip, but why'd you leave?" asked one of the guards riding along.

"Pelame was in one of the houses we were told by Higon to attack. I'd have ditched the job if I knew she was there. I don't want to hurt her."

"Well, thanks for looking out for me," Pelame said with just a hint of sarcasm.

"Look, Pelame, I know our first meeting wasn't pleasant, but I wanna change."

"Then why'd you join such a notorious gang, then?" interjected a guard.

"Pelame likes to do the right thing all the time. I hoped that being in the Syndicate would enable me another chance to see her when she inevitably would come after them. Of course, then Higon betrayed us and we all got arrested. But I guess it all worked out in the end, because now I'm here with her." He sat down next to Pelame, resting on her shoulder. "Pelame, could I please have another chance, my lovely? You're such a lovely Pokémon everyone who knows you should be lucky to know, and I want to help you."

"Well, first of all, get off my shoulder," Pelame said assertively. "And respect my space. Second of all, explain about Higon. You mentioned twice now that she betrayed you and the rest of the Syndicate."

"Ugh, Higon, who insisted we call her 'Little Thin Running Green'—"

"Wait a minute, Higon was 'Little Thin Running Green?'" asked one of the guards. "We searched through the Syndicate leader's email history and found many emails sent to him from a Pokémon using that label."

"Why not go ask her, then?"

"I know you were trying to be sarcastic, but that's a good idea." The clefable guard turned to Latios. "Sorry, but we need to make another detour. Can you turn back around to the giant mansion just over there?"

"Sure, but please let this be the last detour," Latios answered. He turned around and flew in the opposite direction. "So, where is this mansion exactly?"

"Keep going straight," Flygon answered. "We'll be there in two minutes."

Right on Flygon's prediction, Latios's cargo landed at the front porch of the mansion in Chestebury in two minutes.

"Everyone, don't look into the Dark Eyes!" Pelame warned.

"Got it," responded one of the guards. "All right, let's sweep the place and find our Pokémon of Interest! Remember, she's a flygon with no wings!"

Keeping their eyes off of any Dark Eyes that tried to impede their progress, their search yielded only an old computer that was left on. There was an email open.

_"__To Miss Higon,  
Per your recent divorce and the arrest of your ex-husband, all of his belongings now belong to you. The transaction has gone through as of this morning at midnight. We thank you for your cooperation during this tough time of yours._

_Sincerely,  
Chestebury National Bank"_

"She wanted everything I had…" Flygon said, feeling betrayed.

"But where is she, though?" Pelame asked.

Before getting any answers, the house began to shake. Everyone left the house and found that it began to shrink and lift out of its foundation. Soon, it was small enough to be able to fit into Pelame's backpack. It flew up into the sky and vanished somewhere, leaving everyone who saw it shocked and awed.

* * *

That evening, Latios had gotten his passengers to the front gate of Maison Pumbloom, where Latias and the rest of the traveling party was waiting.

"How long have you all been standing here?" Pelame asked.

"Nearly an hour," Mori answered. "We explained to the President's guards already."

"That he did, and you sure sound heroic from his description," interjected one of the two furret guarding the gate.

"Heroic? Me?" Pelame couldn't keep herself from blushing. "I mean, I want to do good for the world, but I'm hardly a hero."

"Well, why don't we let our president be the judge of that?" The guard opened the gate. "Until he says otherwise, Pelame only."

Pelame stepped forward through the opened gate which shut behind her. She followed the guard into Maison Pumbloom. It was tough for her to resist the urge to go explore the interior, which was one of the fanciest and awe-inspiring she'd ever seen. _"All in good time, Pelame,"_ she mentally told herself as she followed the guard up to the second floor (third floor by the count she was used to). They stopped in front of a door that was the fourth one down the hall.

"The president is beyond this door. Please be courteous to him, as he is a World Leader."

Pelame nodded in confirmation. She entered the door the guard opened and slowly walked up to the desk at the opposite side of the room. Sitting on the chair was a small chatot dressed in a dark gray coat.

"Good evening, Miss Pelame," he greeted graciously. "Welcome to Maison Pumbloom."

Pelame bowed to the president.

"Oh, no need for bowing. Here, handshakes are the customary formality."

He stood up and fluttered down to Pelame, offering his right wing. Pelame offered her right paw, which the chatot grabbed and shook.

"I'm very honored to meet you, Mister President," Pelame said.

"Actually, it is I who should be honored to meet _you_, Miss Pelame. I have been informed by Emperor Kentahito about your bravery. Your reputation precedes you."

"Mister President, I'm no hero. I mean…I want to do good things for the world, I want to save it from destruction and all that. But 'hero' is too strong a word…"

"Nonsense! It's exactly the right word for you. A noble Pokémon like yourself who has the world's best interests at heart and the willingness to face the very thing that wants everything you hold dear to be destroyed can't be called anything but a hero. And I must say you've been doing a great job at that."

"Have I, though?"

"Certainly! Why would you doubt yourself?"

"*sigh*… too many reasons… I'm sure the Emperor told you about what happened to his country, as well as lots of other things I'm responsible for."

"Yes, he did. And I don't blame you for any of that any more than he does, so there's no need for you to blame yourself. Even the best of us make mistakes. The important thing is what we do about them, and I say you have been doing an excellent job fixing whatever mistakes you may have made. And I also say that I and the other World Leaders would like nothing more than to assist you in your efforts. If there is ever anything we can do to help, just let us know."

"Hmm… well, for now, there's only one thing."

* * *

The mansion grew back to its normal size in an isolated clearing in a nearby forest. It was set down on a spot that flattened itself and made itself suitable to place the mansion on.

"Perfect," Higon said, finishing with preparing the land and setting her house with her new power. "And thank you too for this amazing power and body."

**"****Don't thank me yet. There's still time for your ambitions to topple either way, so I advise you take special care."**

"No one's taking my house from me ever again." Higon's Mortite shell sank into her body, giving her back her normal appearance. "By the way, you look familiar, Dark Blessing."

* * *

"You'll be fine, Pelame," Mori reassured as the two stood at the entrance to the TIGHS Luttney HQ.

"I hope so," Pelame responded. "It's just been so long since I saw everyone."

"Same for me. Believe me, Pelame, my heart's pounding like crazy, too." Mori knocked on the door, hoping for an answer.

"Uh, Mori, did you forget Trailblazer can't hear?"

"No, but Winifred can hear us."

The very Pokémon he mentioned answered the door. When she saw who it was, she experienced an extent of shock that would be hard to explain in words.

"H-h-h-hello, Miss Winifred," Pelame greeted, sweating nervously.

"Pelame? Mori?" Winifred responded. "Is it really you?"

"It's been too long," Mori said.

"Come in! Come in! The boss will be so happy to see you!" She dragged the two into Trailblazer's office, leaving quickly.

Pelame looked at her former boss, feeling a mixture of relief, nervousness, and happiness. Mori felt much the same way.

"Welcome back to TIGHS, both of you," Trailblazer greeted. "Mori, I suppose this means your extended vacation is over."

"Yes, sir," Mori answered. "Sorry it went on so long."

"No problem at all. The world's been going crazy, as I'm sure you know. It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back."

Trailblazer nodded and then turned to Pelame.

"S-sir…" Pelame stammered.

"Hello, Pelame. It was quite a sad day when you left us. Am I right in assuming you're rejoining us?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well then, welcome back. Stay here in the HQ. I'm sure the other Researchers will be overjoyed to see you."

"Okay. I don't suppose you have a spare crew room left?"

"Just one, and it's big enough for the both of you. Just play nice now. Hee hee hee."

Pelame and Mori giggled at their boss's joke. The two went into the empty crew room and set their belongings down.

"Not that this isn't nice and all, Pelame," Mori said. "But why did you not just consult a map about the HQ's location? Why get the location directly from the president?"

"It was all I could think of at the moment as far as favors," Pelame answered. "He's offering his cooperation in what's to come, though."

"I see. Well, it's sure great to be back in TIGHS. Can't wait to go Researching again."

"Oh, me neither! Just like old times…"

"Yeah, it's so exciting! Gosh, if only my tail was as movable as yours. I'd be wagging it right now like you are."

"Huh?" Pelame looked back at her own tail and saw how rapidly it was wagging. She giggled a little bit at the sight of her own visible excitement. "So… top or bottom?"

"I'll take the top one." Mori climbed up to the top bunk of the two-tiered bed. Before Pelame could settle into the bottom bunk, Trailblazer stepped into the room.

"Pelame, may I please see you in my office for a moment?" he asked.

"Sure," she answered. She followed her boss into his office and took a seat.

"So, Pelame, how have you been lately?"

"*sigh* If only I could tell you that I've been doing well…" Pelame then explained in detail everything that happened since she left TIGHS.

"I see. That sure is awful that you were set up like that. But you know what? I think you're managing just fine despite that. Plus, I think you picked a perfect time to return to us. It seems the Dark Blessing has more to do with the world's situation than we ever thought before."

"Yes, and I want to find out all I can about it so I can stop it once and for all."

"I understand. But there's something else I called you in for. You see, we at the Guild have uncovered some findings about your species."

"What about?"

"Well, it has to do with how many species an eevee can evolve into."

"Seven. Everyone knows that."

"_Knew_ that. As it turns out, what we found is evidence that Pocketurn miscounted. There is an eighth species—Eeveelution, as they say—that an eevee can become."

"An eighth? How?"

"We don't know that yet. We don't know how an eevee can become this new form, what type it is, or even that form's name, though we suspect it ends with '-eon' like the others. The only other thing we found was this picture of it. Komed took the photo, so remember to thank her."

Trailblazer showed the photo. It was an inscription that had a picture of a quadrupedal Pokémon that appeared to have a bow on its head with ribbons flowing out of it and an identical one on its chest. It had a short tail and long ears, and stood fairly tall. No discernable facial features could be made out from the photographed inscription.

"The only other thing we found about this Pokémon is the name of the first, and probably only one so far, who ever achieved it."

"I don't see it on the photo. It was found elsewhere?"

"Yes."

"Then what's the name?"

"Nihilda."


	50. Old Chateau Pumbloom

**A/N: Thanks again to Naguro for the French translations.**

* * *

Chapter 50 – Chateau Pumbloom

* * *

On Eleventhmonth 17th, 1512, work on the secret weapon was proceeding along. And it was at a timely occasion, as Pocketurn began to feel the effects of the approaching Genesis Day.

"It's so weird skipping about two weeks…" Amongele said.

"Be that as it may, we still need this done by the beginning of Twelfthmonth," Keldeo reminded. "Whichever day the beginning of Twelfthmonth will be, that is. Genesis Day really does mess with one's time perception."

"Well, what else do we have to do? We already built its carrier, but it doesn't seem to be strong enough."

"Yeah, I saw it fall over just like you did." Keldeo glanced back at the robotic insectoid fossil Pokémon, which was struggling under the weapon's weight. "I suppose we could build another one. Or…"

"Hmm?"

"Why not make a new mechanical transporter/fighter altogether? He does need a mate, after all."

"Good idea, Judge. You know, I was looking for a reason to put that old robot maid idea of mine to use."

"You…had a desire to build a robot maid?"

"Well, not anymore. Now she'll be a robot weapon!"

* * *

It was the morning of Eleventhmonth 18th, and Mori and Pelame were up earlier than usual. Mori was in the bathroom seated on the men's room's toilet. It was there that he felt a strange chill run all over his body.

"You mortals are strange…" Mori heard something say. It wasn't the Dark Blessing, but its incorporeal nature still put Mori on edge. He scanned the toilet room, looking for a possible source. Under the toilet's canister, he saw a pair of red eyes and a smile. "What you do on these things is _so_ disgusting."

Mori yelped in surprise. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!" he demanded. The ghost-type Pokémon quickly materialized and clasped Mori's mouth shut with his hands.

"Quiet!" he whispered loudly. "I'm trying to keep a low profile, you know."

As the gengar let go of Mori's mouth, Mori recognized the intruder.

"Tastebud?! Weren't you with the Syndicate?"

"Was, but not anymore. I just wanted to see Pelame one more time before I turned myself in, but I guess I picked the wrong bathroom."

"Okay first: she's female, so she'd be using the women's bathroom. Second: she's quadrupedal, so she'd be using the quadrupedal women's bathroom. And third: NEVER DISTURB POKÉMON WHEN THEY'RE ON THE TOILET!"

"Hey! Didn't I tell you to be quieter? You're gonna blow my cover!"

"So what?! Leave Pelame alone already! And leave me alone, too!"

"Okay, okay, sheesh." With that, Tastebud left Mori to his natural needs. He sank back into the shadow cast by the toilet and came out of the shadow cast by Pelame. He felt some warm water spray him as he came up. At the same time, Pelame felt the water stop flowing onto her. She turned around to see what was going on, and was greeted by her devoted stalker.

"AAAAAGHH!" she screamed, nearly slipping. "GET OUT! I'M SHOWERING!"

"Sorry to bother you, but I wanted to see you one more time before I left."

"At least wait until I'm out of the shower! Geez! Now get out!"

"Okay, I'll wait outside." Tastebud left the shower area and patiently waited until she was done. He watched as she shook herself dry and then activated the blow-dryer mounted on the wall to dry off any dampness she couldn't shake off. "You know, what you mortals do in those rooms is a lot nicer than what I caught that friend of yours doing on that bowl-shaped chair."

"Okay, Tastebud, I know you're obsessed with me for some reason, but when you keep putting your foot in your mouth like that, you disgust me even more."

"Hey, I wasn't exactly _watching_ him, you know! Why would I want to watch something so gross?"

"Well, watching me shower isn't too much better! Both are private moments that one should be alone for!" Pelame walked over to the sink and began washing her mouth with mouthwash.

"Well, except for when parents teach their kids how to, that is."

Pelame finished cleaning her mouth and teeth and spat the mouthwash out in time to respond. "Yeah, that's the only exception. Well, that and assistants helping physically handicapped Pokémon who can't independently function, anyway. But you, Tastebud, are neither category. You're just some perverted creep with an obsession with me. Get it through your head: YOU MAKE ME UNCOMFORTABLE." Pelame rinsed her mouth out with water as soon as she put her foot down to Tastebud.

"To be honest, Pelame, I've come to realize that. That's why I decided to turn myself into the police. Perhaps I can learn to better myself there. Or at least get the bad beaten out of me. Anyway, that's why I wanted to see you one more time. I'm saying goodbye for now."

"Well, here's hoping you learn your lesson, Tastebud."

"Me too. See you later, Pelame. I love you, dearie." He gave Pelame a hug and then sank into the shadow cast by the sink.

* * *

"As you can see, everyone," Trailblazer announced to everyone. "We are at last rejoined by Pelame and Morikain. Now, as we are close to Genesis Day, we've all undoubtedly noticed that the world's date is running fast due to the world's time zones converging so as to give the whole world Genesis Day. And as we all know, the Dark Blessing is planning something big for that day. Namely, our total annihilation. So, we're going to be switching gears for a while. From now until this is all solved, we're going to be conducting research exclusively on the following subjects: the Dark Blessing, Alpha Power, the Immortal Realm, and Nihilda."

"Nihilda? That weird Pokémon we saw that mural of?" Komed asked.

"Yes. Pelame will tell you more. Pelame?"

By this call, Pelame knew to join her boss at the front of the room.

"Well, as you all know, Nihilda is my ancestor. She was the last one not to be an Alpha. But worse than that, she and Unod were partners, going so far as to even share a body."

"Then, could it be possible that she got that strange ribbon-y form of hers from that weird union?" Jean asked.

"Maybe. But the only other thing about her I know is that since she and Unod were one and the same, they could both return on Genesis Day. And then…" Pelame hesitated.

"…everyone and everything will be destroyed…" Mori finished.

"Exactly. And that's all I know."

"Well, I for one have every intention of helping Pelame."

"Me, too!" Komed volunteered.

"Me as well!" all the other Researchers and staff said.

"Great, then we're all in agreement," Trailblazer said upon seeing the unanimous response. "I suggest we begin where that mural of Nihilda was found. Who wants to escort Pelame there?"

"I will!" Mori volunteered immediately.

"Me, too! I did take the picture of the mural, after all," Komed added.

"I'll go, too," said Marie, who just entered the HQ. "Well, if you'll have me and my brother, that is."

"That's very nice of you, but you two aren't members of this Guild. Or are you applying? Because you'll have to take that up with me," Winifred responded.

"Winifred, times are dire," Trailblazer said to his secretary. "Though I won't be hiring these two just yet, let's see how well they do. Who knows? Maybe I'll be convinced to hire them." He turned to the two entrants. "So, what are your names?"

"I'm Marie, and this is my brother Henri," Marie introduced.

"Oh, so you two are the local contractors, then. I'd seen your names before."

"Yes. But in light of recent events, Henri and I decided to help Pelame out. Plus, I've studied history myself and was going to apply here a while ago. I stayed behind for the sake of my brother, who traded his Modern Pocketurn fluency to Uxie in exchange for fluency in Old Blooman. I remained with him to be his translator."

"I see. Well, we do have a linguist as one of our staff members, and some of our Researchers studied other languages, too. As I'm sure you heard me say, you two aren't hired yet, but I will allow you to accompany Pelame and her group."

"Yes, sir. We'll be glad to help."

"Good luck then. Now everyone, let's Research! This time for Pocketurn's survival!"

"All righty!" responded everybody.

As Pelame embarked with her group, she approached Marie and asked, "So, while you're helping us, what about your building company?"

"I'm glad you asked. You see, Pelame, it's going to be under new management for a while."

* * *

_"__You want me to WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Blessing screamed in surprise and glee._

_"__Yep, Henri's made his mind up," Marie clarified. "We're going to apply to TIGHS. So Henri wanted to seek out someone he knows is a skilled builder."_

_"__Then why not go to Professor Euclid?"_

_"__Because Euclid just got hired as an Architecture teacher at Berragow Public School. Also, Henri recognizes your talent at building."_

_"__But all I did was lay down carpeting."_

_"__True, but considering how quickly you took to that, we think you'll manage that with other building tasks. Just give it a few days and see how you feel."_

_"__Well, I suppose I can do that. But only if Treasure gets to work with me."_

_"__Certainly."_

_"__Thanks. Good luck in TIGHS, and tell Pelame I said hello!"_

_"__We will!"_

* * *

"Well, let's drop by to see how she's doing after we're done researching," Pelame suggested.

"D'ailleurs, est-ce-que l'amphinobi vient avec nous?" Henri asked.

"Pelame, my brother wants to know why that greninja's coming with us," Marie translated.

"That's easy," Sanjuro answered gruffly. "I have no choice but to, seeing as how I'm in her Custody."

"He had a task force of Alphas who were doing favors for Pokémon just to get rewards from them, and then stealing from them if they weren't rewarded," Pelame explained. "So, rightfully, he and the others got arrested for that. But then they got transferred to Hizeme Prison in Shizazoto, tortured, and escaped along with me and some of my friends."

"Well, except for Pend and Yoki. They couldn't live through even one torture session, which goes to show how weak they were."

"Wow, Sanjuro, way to totally insult their memory," Pelame responded irritably.

"Oh, give me a break, Pelame. You think I actually _liked_ those guys in the task force?"

"No, but I would've expected you to have just a bit of respect for them. But you just like yourself too much to do that."

"Well, yeah! What's there _not_ to like about me?"

"That's easy: your attitude, narcissism, smugness, hubris, stubbornness, rudeness, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, ego—"

"Yes, we get it; you're blind to my awesomeness."

"You know, if there was anything actually awesome about you, we'd have noticed," Komed added. She then said aside to Pelame, "How in the world have you not lost your sanity around this jerk?"

"Because, in the long run, he doesn't matter. I've got bigger thing to worry about," Pelame answered.

"Like Nihilda's possible connection to Unod?"

"Exactly. Speaking of which, where'd you find that mural with her picture on it?"

"Well, that's where we're going. I'll lead you there."

"Well, at least it's better than taking orders from 'Miss Hero' here," Sanjuro quipped. "But then, the common cold is better than diarrhea."

* * *

It took until 1:32pm to reach a forest located at some northwestern outskirts of Luttney.

"Well, history majors," Sanjuro started. "Educate me: what's this place, and why are we going here?"

Pelame, Mori, Komed and Marie looked at each other as if trying to decide who was to answer Sanjuro's question. Henri was unsure what was going on.

"You should answer him, Pelame," Mori whispered in the huddle they got into.

"Great idea, Mori!" Komed added. "_That'll_ get under his skin!"

"Not this time," Pelame answered. "I don't want to annoy him on purpose. Besides, I've gotten so many chances to explain things already. So, I nominate Marie."

"Oh really?" Marie asked. "Why me?"

"You studied a lot, right? Here's your chance to prove it to us."

"Oh. I never thought of it like that. All right then. Break?"

"Break!" The group broke their huddle. Henri did so a second late due to the language barrier.

"Okay, Sanjuro. I'll explain for you. You see, this forest is known as Nagureaux Forest, or in Old Blooman, Forêt de Nagureaux. It was named after King Nagureaux, who had a secret castle built deep within this forest. The castle became the Blooman Royal Family's residence while the castle back in the city became the throne from which the country was lead and diplomatic business was conducted. He built this secret castle so as to protect himself and his family from would-be assassins because, well, let's face it, the castle in the city is pretty conspicuous."

"N'oublie pas de mentionner la Maison Pumbloom." Henri reminded.

"T'inquiète pas je vais le faire. Henri just reminded me of something. See, as you all know, Pumbloomberg used to be a monarchy. When it became a Constitutional Democracy, the castle became a landmark, and Maison Pumbloom became both the Presidential residence and the ruling center. As for the secret castle, it deteriorated to ruins."

"That's all right so far!" Pelame complimented. "Wow, Marie! Are you sure _you're_ not a Summa Cum Laude?"

"Nope, just a Magna. Also, as I'm sure you know, Pumbloomberg became a Constitutional Democracy due to King Aureheim's assassination and having no heir. His Prime Minister saw to the formation of the new form of Government. I think that covers everything, right?"

"Yep. Well done, Miss Marie!"

"Thanks..." Marie blushed.

"Historylessonover let's get going already!" Sanjuro prodded.

"All right, we're coming! Komed, lead the way."

"Got it," Komed answered. She took the lead and led the group into the forest.

* * *

"We're finished, sire!" Keldeo joyfully said to his king. "The weapon's done, and so are its two mechanical transporters!"

"I see. Excellent work. Both you and Amongele outdid yourselves," the Twilight King congratulated. "You sure got it done faster than I thought you could."

"Well, who could wait until we attack Pumbloomberg?"

"I see your point. However, we do need to test it."

"Exactly. That's the other thing I wanted to mention. We need you for the tests. See, we built it so it could be used only by either you or me, but mainly you. Although I can also operate it, we designed it to take its orders from you, sire."

"You caught me at a good time, then. Of course I can test it."

"All right then. Wait until you see it, sire. It's my pride and joy!"

Keldeo led his king to a large garage located on the Twilight Castle's grounds. Inside it was an elevator to an underground factory, where the weapon was being built. Entering another door, the two were stopped by a security door.

"This is the first test, sire," Keldeo explained.

"HIS MAJESTY ENTERS?" asked the security system.

"This is Judge Keldeo," Keldeo answered.

"SUFFICIENT CREDENTIALS FOR ENTRY. WELCOME, KELDEO."

The door opened. The two waited until it shut itself after the 10-second grace period.

"Your turn now, sire."

"HIS MAJESTY ENTERS?"

"This is indeed the Twilight King," answered the king.

"WELCOME, SIRE. I HAVE AWAITED YOUR ARRIVAL. PLEASE ENTER."

The door opened again, admitting the king and judge inside.

"HIS ROYAL MAJESTY AND HIS HONOR ON DECK."

"Welcome, sire, to the weapon's control deck," Keldeo said.

"So we're inside it now?" the king asked.

"Yes, sire. This is your throne, which, as you can see, Amongele and I built to resemble your actual throne. From there, you can pilot the weapon. Want to test it?"

"Of course."

"We've made the ignition system so that only Demon-types can activate it. It works for me, so now we'll see if it works for you. Turn the throne into Mortite, and the system will start up."

The King did so. At once, the system activated.

"GREETINGS," the control deck said. "WELCOME TO THE GENESECT PROGRAM INTERFACE. WHO IS THE OPERATOR?"

"This is King Kangaskhan II. I'm testing you out before we launch our attack."

"DIAGNOSTIC MODE INITIATED. PLEASE SPECIFY TEST TO CONDUCT."

"Let's begin with mobility."

"AS YOU WISH, MY LIEGE."

* * *

Pelame's group had made it to a glade deep within the forest, wherein an old castle dwelt.

"Welcome to Chateau Pumbloom," Komed said to the group. "Old Chateau Pumbloom, that is."

The group followed Komed into the old ruins. Though there was time-inflicted dilapidation all over the place, it was safe to enter and explore. On the foyer's right wall was a portrait of a malamar dressed in a royal set of clothing. It was labeled, "Sa majesté royale, le Roi Nagureaux".

"The builder of this castle…" Mori said in awe. "Pity he couldn't replicate the clock tower. But he did want this place to be secret, after all."

"That reminds me," Pelame responded. "Let's see if we can take our families to the current tower for a tour."

"Sounds good to me, Pelame."

The group resumed their exploration of the castle, following Komed.

"I found the mural a few levels down," she notified. "We're not too far from it."

Following Komed down about four levels took them to a dark room with lots of old inscriptions. One of them read "Lumière et ténèbre. Opposés quand séparés, tout quand fusionnés".

"Tout le monde, regardez ça" Henri called out.

"'Light and dark. When separate, opposites. When joined, everything,'" Marie translated.

"Here it is!" Komed announced, pointing to the mural depicting Nihilda.

"Oh? On dirai que Pelame pourrai évoluer en cette chose." Henri noted. He wandered around the room while the rest more closely examined the mural.

"So, I guess this is Nihilda, huh?" Sanjuro asked. "Looks wimpy."

Sanjuro's comment was ignored. Pelame in particular was very attentive to the mural.

"Sylveon,"

"What?" Mori asked. "What's a sylveon? And who said that?"

"Hey there!" Tastebud greeted, jumping out of Pelame's shadow.

"You again?!" Pelame demanded. "You're supposed to be in jail!"

"I know, Pelame, I know! But before I left, I decided to eavesdrop, and I heard something about you studying Nihilda. So I decided to come along and help."

"You'd better behave yourself, then! No creepy passes at me, okay?!"

"I promise, Pelame. But you see, I want to help you with this because, well… uh… just… follow me and I'll tell you later. I can't remember any details right—"

Just then, a loud crumbling noise was heard, as was the sound of Henri and Marie screaming as they fell. The other researchers went to check on the two, stopping just short of the pit.

"You okay down there?" Mori asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Marie answered. "So's my brother, but I think you can see he got stuck in this entryway."

"Aïïïïïe... Marry tu pourai m'aider avec ce trou?" Henri asked.

"Here we come, Henri!" Pelame called down. She tied an Alpha Cord to a rafter and climbed down with her fellow Researchers following her. Sanjuro showed off by jumping down, making a three-point landing. He ran up to Henri and placed his right foot on his rear, pushing.

"Just leave it to me," Sanjuro boasted.

"Aïe! Arrêtez ça! Ça fait mal!" Henri complained.

"Sanjuro, quit it! You're hurting him!" Pelame scolded, pulling Sanjuro away with another Alpha Cord.

"Urgh... Mes fesses me font mal... Qui a fait ça?"

"C'est Sanjuro." Marie answered.

"Henri's plugging up the exact place we need to go," Tastebud said. "We're gonna need to push him inside."

"Uh, Tastebud, that isn't going to be possible," Pelame responded.

"Well, not the way Sanjuro was doing it. You'll all have to push together, but gently, while I go inside and pull."

"And how are you going to go to the other side?"

"Hold on." Tastebud walked over to Henri. "Henri, is it dark in there?"

"Oui, je ne peux rien voir, même pas la partie de mon corps qui est coincé de ce côté."

"Excellent, then I can come in after you."

"Wait—how do you know what Henri's saying?" Komed asked.

"Universal Language, of course. It's an ability we Immortals have. No matter what we say, we're understood by anyone. I'm not even speaking a Pocketurn language right now; you're all just hearing your native language coming out of my mouth. On the other hand, I can understand all languages."

"Wow. That's really handy, actually."

"I guess you were just letting us struggle with language barriers for the fun of it, then," Sanjuro interjected.

"No, it's just that my ability didn't matter until now."

"Why do you need it to be dark?" Pelame asked.

"Well…" Tastebud sank into a shadowy area of the room. He stuck his hands out of Sanjuro's shadow and grabbed his ankles. He pulled, tripping the Greninja. His hands moved along with the shadow. He then jumped out of it. "See? That's why."

"I see. You need shadows to phase through."

"Yep. I can't do that in the light. So I'll just go to the other side of that wall and pull Henri through."

"Actually, wait a second. You won't need to do that." Pelame attached an Alpha Cord to a rafter up above. "Mori, Komed, climb onto me."

"What?!" Mori and Komed cried.

"We're both bigger than you, Pelame!" Komed said. "What's on your mind?!"

"We're gonna cast a shadow on Henri's hindquarters so Tastebud can just make a shadow portal out of it. That way, Henri can slip out."

"I like the way you think, Pelame, but are you sure you can carry us?" Mori asked.

"It's worth a try."

"All right, then." Mori and Komed took hold of Pelame as she pulled herself up, taking her two friends up with her. She found it tough to support their combined weight.

"Tastebud, whenever you're ready…" Pelame said, straining.

"You're in the right spot, so here I go," Tastebud responded. He got to work creating his shadow portal. Henri easily slipped through to the other side of the wall, where a splash was heard. At that point, Pelame's strength gave out, and she let go of her Alpha Cord, sending herself and her two passengers falling to the ground.

"How are the rest of us getting to the other side?" Komed asked.

"Well, let's just break the wall down," Sanjuro suggested. "If someone as puny as Henri could smash himself into it and get stuck, imagine what full-power moves can do!"

"Wait! Let us do it!" Tastebud said. "There's water back here! You could pin us under the rocks and drown us! We'll break it from our side!"

Tastebud launched a Shadow Ball at the wall, shattering it with one shot. Water flooded into the room, coming up to Pelame's knees.

"There you go! Oh, sorry about the water."

"I never thought I'd say this, but, thanks, Tastebud!" Pelame congratulated. "And thank you too, Sanjuro, for the idea."

"See? It _is_ good to listen to me!" Sanjuro gloated.

"From here on, just follow me," Tastebud said. "The rest of the path is underwater. Swim toward the waterfalls if you need air."

"No problem for me. As a Greninja, my lung capacity is so long, I might as well have gills!"

"What about Marie, though?" Mori asked. "Marie, will you be okay underwater?"

"Yep," Marie answered. "My tail doesn't extinguish unless I die. I'm a skilled swimmer as well."

"And Komed, how about you?"

"I'm good, too," Komed answered. "Ground-typing doesn't mean I can't swim. Water only hurts me when it's used as a weapon in battle against me. But, really, water being squirted at high speeds would hurt anyone."

"True."

"The real question is you, Mori," Sanjuro added. "You gonna be okay underwater, considering you were once almost drowned by an Elite Nine?"

"Of course I am! That experience doesn't scare me away from water!"

"You guys coming or not?" Tastebud called hurriedly.

"Yeah, we're coming," Pelame responded. She and her fellow Researchers followed Tastebud into the underwater cavern. Inside it was like nowhere they'd ever seen. Even though they were underwater, there were waterfalls flowing all around the gigantic sprawling cavern. The ceiling and floor were studded with small stones that were blue and stones that were pink, all arranged in straight lines of matching color. The group swam toward a waterfall to refill their air supply.

"Wow, this place looks beautiful!" Pelame said in awe. "Those lights remind me of Yule Day lights!"

"What are those, anyway?" Mori asked. "They're sure not like anything I've ever seen. In fact, this whole cavern seems unlike this world."

"Well, believe it or not, we've just entered the Immortal Realm," Tastebud answered. "That castle basement was the Blooman Realm Gate. The castle was built to protect it, too."

"That's amazing!" Pelame responded. "I had a feeling we were near something Immortal-related—oh, Tastebud, are you comfortable talking about what you mentioned about Nihilda now?"

"Well… the truth is… in the Mortal Realm, I actually forgot a lot about her. As we get close to where we're going, I'm remembering more and more. In fact, revisiting this cavern was how I remembered the name of the form she evolved into. How she achieved that form, I don't know. But when she was an eevee…"

Tastebud stammered.

"Let's keep going. I've hit another blank."

Tastebud went ahead as the others followed. His tagalongs were taking in the sight of the cavern as much as they could, admiring every detail of it. They had gone a few fathoms deep by now, but despite that, they weren't feeling any ill effects other than a need to breathe. Water pressure was completely non-existent, so all the waterfalls did was give air.

"Je suppose que si on avait enmené un équipement de plongée, on aurait pas à se soucier d'accident de décompression, hein?" Henri asked.

"Probablement pas." Marie answered.

"Remember anything else, Tastebud?" Mori asked.

"Yeah, but the blank I'm hitting now practically makes it pointless for me to start explaining now," Tastebud answered. "We're nearly there, though. Come on."

The cavern seemed to keep on continuing, almost making the Researchers forget that there was even light to be found, albeit from such small sources. The stones in the spires seemed like pool lights. By now, the lights seemed more like runway lights guiding them to a destination. Their air ran low by the time they reached an air pocket at the bottom of the submerged cave. It was a long swim, but they made it.

"Whoa…" Pelame said in wonderment. Somehow, the group ended up in outdoor ruins that almost exactly resembled Old Chateau Pumbloom. The field surrounding it was a grassy plain that, for Pelame, felt strangely nostalgic. "It's like…Promised Land."

"Why does it look so much like the Chateau?" Mori asked.

"Coincidence," Tastebud answered.

"What is this place, exactly?" Pelame asked. "And why do I feel like this place is familiar?"

"I don't know. Perhaps memories of your lineage are coming back to you."

"Oh, memories! Tastebud, what do you remember now?"

"Well, you see…" He approached Pelame with a very solemn expression on his face. He grabbed her paw. "Pelame, listen to me, and listen good. You look exactly like Nihilda, but make no mistake, **YOU ACT NOTHING LIKE HER**. That's why I love you so much! You're exactly like she was! I loved her! And then she… then she…"

"Tastebud, are you…" Pelame noticed the tears in the gengar's eyes.

"You can't let her return to this world, Pelame! She wants to kill everyone! Stop her before Genesis Day comes! I'm begging you!"

"Tastebud, I'm doing the best I can—"

"I know! And you're doing great! I just… I can't go through that again! She went insane and betrayed all of life!"

"Wait a minute, now," Mori interjected. "What's Nihilda got to do with world destruction? Isn't that Unod's goal? Didn't she goad Nihilda into that?"

"No, she didn't."

"Now, just a minute. What's going on here, Tastebud. You knew Nihilda, apparently. And she must have really terribly hurt you, and I'm sorry about that. But what's really going on here? What's Nihilda's involvement in all of this?"

"Pelame… you're such a sweet lady… it hurts me so much that you're part of her legacy."

"Her legacy? Well, I can't help but be related to her, but what are you talking about."

"Pelame… Unod… Nothing you thought was her doing was truly hers… Nihilda didn't join her side."

Tastebud wiped tears from his eyes and looked away from Pelame in shame.

"Unod… joined hers…"


	51. Cadence Tower

**A/N: Thanks again to Naguro for the French translations.**

* * *

Chapter 51 – Cadence Tower

* * *

Due to the approaching Genesis Day's effects on the world, the date was now Eleventhmonth 30th. The Twilit Army forces immediately within the castle were all inside the weapon's hangar and were ready to go. Along with them were the remaining seven members of the Elite Nine, who'd left their most skilled advisors in charge of the territories they were governing. The Twilight King and Judge Keldeo were in the control room.

"WHAT IS YOUR ORDER, MY LIEGE?" the panel asked.

"Launch," King Kangaskhan II answered. "Today, we are attacking Luttney, Pumbloomberg. Take us to Cadence Tower."

"AS YOU WISH, MY LIEGE. COORDINATES SET, LAUNCHING NOW."

"Cadence, your land will be mine before today ends."

* * *

"Cadence Tower?" Blessing asked. "Pelame and Mori are taking us there tonight?"

"I guess so," Marie said. "Mori went and got the tour tickets."

"Didn't Pelame go with him?"

"Nope. Ever since yesterday's Research trip, she's been hard at some work of her own. At what, I don't know."

"Well, what happened during the trip yesterday?"

"Well, Blessing, you see—"

* * *

"That's so terrible!" Zeki said to her son when he answered her question about Pelame's discovery. "To think she was descended from such an evil Pokémon!"

"Yeah," Mori agreed. "I couldn't believe my ears when Tastebud said that to Pelame. I hope she's still up for our trip to the tower tonight."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

"I hope so. Too bad Dad can't come with us. How is he?"

"Well, he's getting there. He hasn't long to go."

"Thank goodness…"

"We'll get some good pictures for him."

"Okay."

Mori and his mother hugged.

* * *

"Ugh…this isn't any good at all!" Pelame cried in frustration. "Don't you have anything from further back than fifteen generations?!"

"Pelame, I'm no more happy about your finding yesterday than you are," Pinna reassured. "In fact, I'm rather livid, too. But your mom and I are doing all we can to help. We can only trace back so far, and Nihilda was many hundreds of generations back in our bloodline."

"Besides, Pelame, Mori and his parents gave these to us," Neve added. "We can focus on this later. For tonight, why don't we just have some fun?" Neve gave a ticket to her daughter.

"Cadence Tower tour?" Recollection hit Pelame not quite as hard as her discovery from yesterday, but it still hit hard nonetheless. "And what time is it now?!"

"Don't worry, dear. We've got three hours until 5:30PM. We can go spend some time in the city before then. You up for that?"

"I suppose so. I'll have to let Trailblazer know."

"Oh, your parents took care of that already," Trailblazer said, having arrived in Pelame's room.

"Oh, sir!"

"You know, Mr. Trailblazer, you always seem to walk in at just the right time to read what others are saying," Pinna commented.

"I just keep getting lucky. Anyway, Pelame, go ahead and have fun on the Cadence Tower tour. Believe me, you need it. Honestly, and please don't get offended when I say this, if I were as stressed-out as you are right now, I'd have died of a heart attack by now. I like you better when you're calm and collected."

"Sorry sir, but considering what I found out yesterday, I can't help my frenzy," Pelame responded. "Really, how would _you_ feel if _you_ were related to an omnicidal monster?"

"I wouldn't care, because who we were descended from has nothing to do with who we currently are. So Nihilda's a monster, through-and-through. Doesn't mean you are. Doesn't mean your father is—you're descended from her, right?"

"Yeah," Pinna answered.

"Okay, just checking. Anyway, Nihilda was evil. Nihilda. Not you, not Grani, not your father, and certainly not you."

"Thanks, I guess…"

"Everything will be fine, Pelame. For now, just spend some time with your family and friends. Mori sure splurged to get those tickets, after all."

"That he did. Okay, I'll go."

"That's good to hear," said Mori as he and his mother joined them.

"Oh, hey Mori! And Miss Zeki! Wow, you two look amazing!"

"Hmm…we may have missed some spots…" Mori and his mother both rubbed the back of their heads and blushed.

"You know, you two are just like my wife," Pinna commented. "So modest. Seriously, you look great."

"Ah…just perhaps…" Their blushing grew pinker.

"Dad, you're turning their faces the same color as their chins," Pelame gently scolded.

"Hey, I can't help it!" Pinna playfully defended. "And no offense, but they're looking better than you do right now. Sorry to 'dad' you, but you look very unsuited for a nice occasion. And, is it just me, or do you have a weird 'I just pulled an all-nighter' musk to you?"

"Huh?" Pelame took a quick whiff of herself. "Uuuhhhh…I think I hear the shower calling… hee hee hee…" She was there in the blink of an eye.

"You sure have a hard-working and determined daughter," Zeki complimented.

* * *

Selena was heavily weighed and quickly sinking to the bottom of Loch Bloomere. The weights were on her feet and the muzzle gagging her was also very heavy. Nothing she did was dislodging them. She was going to the Loch's floor and she could do nothing about it except hope something could allow her to return to the surface before she drowned.

She reached the Loch's floor at last, and there, she appeared to be truly doomed. Her air was dwindling fast. As she couldn't move her head, she had a more limited radius of vision as she could only move her eyes to look around. The only other parts of herself she could move was her tail and the back half of her body. As for her legs, those were immobile. Her efforts to were ultimately useless, and her vision started to turn black. Her energy was gone, as was her air supply. Her eyes closed as her body went limp.

Just then, a buizel swam down and unlocked Selena's bindings, bringing the unconscious shiny umbreon to the surface. He then resuscitated her.

"You okay, Selena?" he asked.

"Yes, Rapid, I'm okay," Selena answered.

"And that's a wrap!" shouted a watchog operating a film camera.

"You know, Selena, I know you don't like to use stunt doubles, but I wish you would've at least had a breathing apparatus with you. You could've died down there."

"Well, in order to properly convey how much danger my on-screen character is in," Selena explained. "I have to be in actual danger myself. If I am to do a drowning scene, I need to actually be drowning. Ah, but having those weights on me sure ties me out."

"Ah… Selena, you're so dedicated. Mind if I join you for some Luttney cuisine?"

"Certainly. We're done filming for today, anyway. Oh, but first…" Selena shook the water out of her fur and her ears. "Okay, I'm ready! Where to?"

* * *

"The Ledley is such a marvelous choice!" Zeki said while she, her son, and Pelame's family were waiting for their food. "Haven't been here in years."

"Oh? You've been here before?" Neve asked.

"Yep. We took a family vacation here once when Mori was just two years old."

"Oh, dear, it's _this_ story…" Mori said, blushing. "Go ahead, mom…"

"You see, we took the Cadence Tower tour back then, and goodness did Mori make my husband freak out."

"How so?" Pelame asked, intrigued. "I can't imagine Mori being so mischievous."

"He kinda was back then. Anyway, he freaked us both out—my husband even more so—when he climbed up the tower and hung upside down by his feet from the clock's small hand. We thought he was going to slip and fall. Thing is, though…"

At this point in the story, Mori blushed even harder and sank into his chair.

"…the clock got ready to strike three o'clock. Luckily, he didn't slip off the hand, even when the clock finally did start chiming upon striking the hour. Of course, his ears weren't as lucky."

"I can imagine…" Pelame said. "Cadence Tower's bell is _loud_. In fact, I think I hear it getting ready."

Cadence Tower was heard striking and chiming five o'clock.

"Needless to say, it's much better hearing it from a distance," Mori commented.

"Obviously your son's ears recovered since that incident, huh?" Pinna asked.

"Yep," Zeki answered. "Though it took three days. Since then, though, he became an obedient son."

"Mostly," Mori corrected. "But yeah, that was quite an experience. I'll be sure to keep my earmuffs on this time."

Over at the restaurant's entrance, a buizel entered with a shiny umbreon who looked familiar to Pelame. What they were saying to the prinplup waiter couldn't be heard. The two then took the table right next to where Pelame and Mori were sitting with their families.

"You know, Selena, it'd be nice to use at least _some_ of our celebrity perks…" Rapid complained.

"Nonsense," Selena defended. "The so-called best seats put Cadence Tower out of view. I'd like to keep it in my sights as I eat, thank you—" Just then, Selena noticed a pleasantly familiar face. "Pelame? Is that you?"

"Selena?" Pelame answered to the actress.

"And this must be your family! How nice to meet you all!"

"Nice to meet you two, ma'am," Neve greeted. "I'm Neve, and this is my husband Pinna."

"Selena, how do you know this eevee?" Rapid asked.

"Did you honestly forget? She rescued me from that creep who abducted me and tried to make me live with him."

"Oh, right! Wow, what a memory failure… sorry, Miss Pelame, and thanks for saving my pal."

"No problem. Although Mori here helped me, along with many other friends. So what brings you to Pumbloomberg?"

"A movie, of course. Tradja got conquered by the Twilight King, as you know, so all its studios were closed down. But we found work at Niceman Studios, where we're currently working on a movie about the Twilight Kingdom's insanity. Basically, it's political propaganda."

"Normally, I'd have never lowered myself to be in such junk, but as its toward someone as universally despised as the Twilight King, I'll happily do the part."

"Oh, definitely. You'd even kill yourself for it. No joke, guys, she would. She just got done filming her own watery death."

"She what?" Neve asked. "How would you even film such a thing?"

"Well, I just had the crew bind and muzzle me in heavy weights and then drop me in Loch Bloomere. The character I play does die of drowning, per Keldeo's sentencing, so it was only natural that I be dropped into the lake."

"You do your own stunts?" Pinna asked.

"Certainly. I don't think stunt doubling is cowardly or anything like that; I just like doing everything required of me. Yes, even including nearly dying, like today."

"How'd you escape?"

"Well, Rapid got me out after I passed out. It did take lots and lots of convincing to tell them to keep filming and not interfere until I fainted, but they finally relented and let me do my underwater stunt. I trust my crew and co-workers completely, otherwise I wouldn't have done this stunt."

"You sure are confident. When's the movie launching?"

"Should be soon. After all, it's propaganda, which means it'll have to come out while its situation is topical. On the other land, though, it'll end up dating the movie once the Twilight King falls."

"All the same, though, good luck on this new film of yours! We'll be sure to see it!"

"Thanks. And when you get to the part where I die, don't fret. Hee hee hee…"

Just then, everyone's orders arrived.

"Wait…you didn't order, Miss Selena," Mori noted.

"Rapid and I both come to this restaurant often," Selena answered. "The staff knows what we like, so all we do is walk in, eat, and pay."

And with that, the two celebrities dug into their food, as did Pelame and Mori and their families.

* * *

Promptly at 5:28PM, all groups met up in the line gathered in front of Cadence Tower. The line consisted only of Pelame and Mori and their families, Blessing and Treasure and Adorbs, Torden and his parents, and Henri and Marie.

"So, Blessing, how's the building business going?" Torden asked.

"Kinda boring so far," Blessing answered. "No jobs yet. Though at least Treasure got to do something."

"Quite a budget to balance, that was," Treasure added. "It wasn't too hard, although I did have to get the hang of the Blooman tax rate. By the way, Henri, Marie, how'd TIGHS go yesterday?"

"Well, we're in," Marie answered. "We're Researchers. Mais Henri, tu n'as pas besoin de te sentir comme un obstacle entre moi et mes rêves."

"Je ne peux pas m'en empêcher." Henri answered back. "Tu aurais pu travailler au TIGHS depuis longtemps si je n'étais pas là."

"Au bout du compte Henri, tu es bien plus important. Tu es la seule famille qui me reste tu sais."

"Je sais."

"De plus, même si c'est par accident, tu as aidé à faire une grande découverte."

"J'imagine. Je suis juste content que Flygon ne m'est pas vu coincé dans ce mur. Il aurait certainement trouvé la scène agréablement ironique."

"So I take it Trailblazer let you two have today off, too?" Pelame asked.

"Nope," Marie answered. "We decided to do Research here today. Seems we picked an opportune time."

"Yep. It's 5:30 now, which means—"

"Bonsoir à tous ! Welcome to Cadence Tower!" introduced the helioptile working as a tour guide. "Short group today. Anyway, follow me, and please don't stray."

Everyone followed the guide into the tower's front door. In the tower's foyer was a huge plaque with an inscription on it.

_"__Puisse cette tour se dresser aussi haute que l'esprit Blooman. Cette tour est dédié au leader de la nation, dont le nom devient celui de la tour."_

"This message right here is about what this tower stands for. It says, 'May this tower stand as tall as the Blooman spirit. This tower is dedicated to the nation's leader, whose name shall become the tower's.' That last part is a reference to the fact that the tower's name changes to the name of the current President. Since our current leader is President Cadence, it's currently called Cadence Tower. Whoever our next President is will have their name given to the tower at the time of inauguration. Also to note, this is the only area the general public is allowed in normally. But as this is a tour, we can go farther. Follow along." The guide opened the door labeled "MAINTENANCE AND TOURS ONLY" and signaled the tourists to follow. "Please pick up earmuffs on your way in. There's enough for everyone."

Everyone did so. As the guide spoke, his voice was broadcast into the earmuffs in a reasonable volume.

"You can adjust the volume if need be," he explained. "Only my voice is audible through these. The bell will ring in twenty minutes."

* * *

"FIVE MINUTES UNTIL WE REACH OUR DESTINATION, EXCELLENCY," the control deck said to the Twilight King.

"Look how far the Mortite has come, sire," Keldeo said, observing the landscape. "A sign of your world coming to fruition."

"Hmm… so long as one patch of it is still unaffected," the King said. "The world still has too much filth. Cadence won't keep it that way for long."

"Cadence Tower is within view and firing range, by the way. Shall we fire on it?"

"No. Pelame's in there. She mustn't die except by my own hands. But I'll be ready for her."

The King stood up, grasping his Request Stone. Raising it above himself, he underwent a transformation. He grew taller and bulkier.

"How long has it been since I've seen your Mega form…" Keldeo said in awe.

* * *

The tour group was on top of the tower, where the tour was to end. In one more minute, the bell would ring.

"Wow… from up here, we can see how far the Mortite spread…" Mori noticed. "Luttney's just about the last bald spot."

"Ça à l'air si horrible." Henri added.

"Thirty seconds!" Pelame said, excited. At this point, the bells started chiming. Then at exactly 6:00PM, the main bell tolled the hour. The tower shook a little bit upon the tolls. It wasn't enough to make anyone lose their balance, but it was definitely noticeable. Everyone looked over the edge down at the clock, as did Mori.

"Wow… it looks even prettier up close," Mori noted.

The clock finished chiming by now, meaning it was safe to remove their earmuffs. They did so and took a seat on the tower's edge.

"You two coming or what?" Pinna asked.

"We'll catch up!" Pelame answered.

"Okay. I'll take Sanjuro with me, then. Don't be too long. And behave yourselves, you two!" Pinna then left with the other tourists. Pelame and Mori then climbed down to the lower balcony in front of the clock.

"'Behave ourselves?' What's dad think we're gonna do?"

"Yeah, I had my fun here once when I was a kid," Mori said. "And as your heard my mom say, my ears paid for it."

"I've never been here before. I gotta say, it's really nice. I haven't seen a sunset this nice since back home. Even with all that Mortite out there, the sunset still looks really nice."

"The sun's light is just about gone by now. 'Twilight' as they say, a perfect mixture of light and dark."

"Yeah…" Pelame moved closer to Mori. "You know, both those things can be harmful if used wrong, but used correctly, they can be helpful. Look at this! The sky has no moral alignment whatsoever, and look how well it's using both!"

"Yeah. Heh, I guess it's good the sun's down right now. My ears suffered last time I was here; my eyes need not follow."

"Yeah, that'd be awful." Pelame giggled. "I wouldn't want that to happen to me, either. Too much beauty in the world to miss out on." As she said that, she stared into Mori's eyes. Without thinking about what she was doing, she suddenly leaned closer to him and then…

"…Pelame…?" Mori asked, bewildered. Pelame was just as much in shock. Had she really just kissed Morikain?!

"…I…ImsosorryMori!" was all she could say.

"Sorry? For what? Kissing me for less than a split-second?"

"Kissing you at all! I mean, what was I thinking?! I just… it… ugh! I'm the biggest idiot EVER!"

"Pelame, quiet!"

Pelame obeyed.

"Okay, yes, I'm surprised that you just planted a quick one on me. But that's the thing, though. I'm surprised. I'm not angry."

"You aren't? But, how is that? You and I are just friends, right?"

"Well, it sure seems you're thinking of me beyond just friendship. Uh… well… I mean, I could be wrong about that. I mean, I'm no love judge, or anything like that, but a kiss sure isn't a meaningless gesture. There's no way you did that for no reason."

"I guess not, but… am I… I mean… *groan* I don't even know what I'm saying now!"

"Pelame, you don't need to say anything. I understand."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Well, enough, anyway. I know you're going through a lot right now. Believe me, Pelame, if anyone deserves a break from it all, it's you. I'm just happy I got to spend it with you."

"Oh, definitely. I mean, you got swept up in this craziness because of me. You deserve a break, too. I just wish I didn't make it so awkward."

"Okay, look, Pelame, it was awkward. But the thing is it was the pleasant kind of awkward. Honestly, I'd rather be kissed by someone I actually like or by a family member than by…well…anyone else. And I gotta admit, Pelame, you're a good kisser."

"What?" Pelame's face blushed so red that it was visible through her facial fur. Mori blushed as well, but not as much.

"Maybe…do it again?"

"WHAT?!"

"Eh… then I will."

Mori leaned in and landed a kiss on Pelame. She was surprised at first, but in an instant, she began enjoying it and began reciprocating. Her tail was wagging very excitedly for the duration of the kiss. In the back of her mind was a desire for this perfect moment to never ever end.

_"__Oh, Mori… I can't wait for when things go back to normal… I love studying history with you…"_

The moment was everything Pelame wanted it to be, all except for one sight she caught in her peripheral vision. As soon as she saw it, she immediately stopped kissing the grovyle in front of her.

"What is—"

She saw a giant robot in the shape and appearance of an old unidentified fossil she and all historians had read about. It was gigantic, nearly the size of Cadence Tower, and it had a giant cannon on its back. It was advancing on Luttney.

"The Twilight King…" Pelame said in dread.

"Pelame, what is it?" Mori asked. Pelame simply pointed out to the horizon.

"We need to get back to Maison Pumbloom!"

* * *

Inside the machine, the King and Keldeo had the tower in their sights.

"Shall we fire on Maison Pumbloom?" Keldeo asked.

"No," the King responded. "There's a strong Alpha Field around it. However, I have some targets in mind." The King stood up. "Genesect, engage firing mode."

"AS YOU WISH, MY LIEGE," Genesect responded. The control deck changed form to suit the mode. The wall panels opened up to reveal a bigger monitor that showed outside from the cannon's point of view. He adjusted it toward Luttney Bridge. He then used Mega Punch on the trigger switch in front of himself.

* * *

The cannon on the robot's back fired a giant ball of purple energy at Luttney Bridge, taking it out in one blast. The bridge was not too far from Maison Pumbloom, so the area near it felt some of the effects of the blast. The robot continued advancing on the Maison as Pelame and everyone she was with made their way back there.

* * *

"Mister President!" said a furret to his leader with a tone of perturbed urgency.

"General Giles, what is it?" the President responded.

"There's a huge machine of some kind advancing on the Maison!"

Cadence said nothing to that. He quickly went over to his office's window and looked outside for the object mentioned to him. It didn't take long to find it. It stopped in front of where the Alpha Field began. Cadence pressed a button labeled "ÉTAT D'URGENCE" on a panel hidden within his office's left wall. Upon doing so, a warning siren sounded all throughout Luttney. In addition, all broadcasts were replaced by a video feed from his office.

"Citizens of Pumbloomberg," he spoke to all he could through TV, radio, and the Internet. "A gigantic weapon has invaded our nation. Details are currently unknown, but it is highly advised that everyone stay calm and exercise caution. The World Leaders and I are going to investigate this matter immed—"

The President's broadcast was interrupted. On all broadcasts was the Twilight King, issuing his order. The President tried ending his own broadcast in hopes of cutting off the Twilight King, but to no avail. He and the other remaining World Leaders went to the front porch of Maison Pumbloom and saw Pelame, Mori, and their families waiting there along with Sanjuro. Looking up at the giant robot, they saw the Twilight King and Judge Keldeo emerge from the top of its head. The King's request Stone was glowing dark purple. He glared confidently down at the Maison.


	52. Luttney Under Siege

**A/N: Thanks again to Naguro for Henri's French dialogue.**

* * *

Chapter 52 – Luttney Under Siege

* * *

"Le Roi du Crépuscule !" Henri exclaimed.

The Twilight King raised his Request Stone and began speaking to all of Pumbloomberg.

"To Pumbloomberg, the Nation of Humility, this is King Kangaskhan II of the Twilight Kingdom addressing you all. Most of your land has become covered in Mortite, making it mine, and soon, Luttney shall join in. At that point, the world will finally become mine. Furthermore, Genesis Day approaches quickly. As I have been informed by my partner Unod the World Destroyer, it will approach in just three more days. On that day, I will make the world the way it was meant to be: free of stubbornness and ignorance, and full of reason and logic. Pocketurn will be saved by me and my forces, and any attempt to cling to this current stubborn world will be removed from it. Such vices have no place in the Twilight World."

The king's speech ended and he lowered his Request Stone.

"Stand by, Keldeo, while I speak to Cadence."

"Yes, sire," Keldeo responded.

The king then jumped down from the weapon and landed harmlessly on the ground in front of the gate to Maison Pumbloom. He was unable to enter due to the Alpha Barrier surrounding the property.

"Evidently you forgot that Alpha Power also gets stronger due to Genesis Day's influence," Cadence said to the Twilight King.

"Certainly not," the king responded. "I know the power that went into the barrier protecting you and those other cowards are hiding behind. You know my strength and wish not to face it. Why, you even are willing to leave a fellow World Leader of yours in my clutches. Remember her?" The frozen Mortite form of Queen Mkono materialized next to the king. At that moment, Pelame and Pinna snatched her up with Alpha Cords and dragged her into the protected area, releasing her from her fate.

"Yes, sire, we do," Pinna quipped.

"Well then, catch up in what little time you have," the king responded, sounding unfazed. "Now then, Cadence, I know you're a reasonable President. I remember the day you were sworn in. So why is it that even _you_ are trying to defend the world as it currently is? You know that doing so is defending ignorance and stubbornness."

"What I am defending is freedom and safety," President Cadence responded. "What you're pushing onto the world is fear and tyranny."

"Force is all the world will ever listen to. But even then, I'm not willing to strike at you just yet. Your city has already lost some landmarks, which should serve as a warning should you refuse my request, an action which shall also result in a losing battle for you. You can avoid tragedy by simply surrendering your country to me right here and now. Unless you actually think you can handle my army." He snapped his fingers, which Keldeo understood as a signal to deploy the troops. Out of the weapon's legs came a big portion of the Twilit Army, every troop he could bring. Among them were the seven remaining Elite Nine members. Keldeo then joined them himself. "What will it be?"

"Hmph… you consider yourself a hero and yet do something underhanded like this? My answer is most definitely 'no'. Plus, you should've also remembered that I have a military of my own."

"Hah! Frozen statues fighting us?!" Keldeo scoffed. "You've given us this one already!"

"Did I, though? Perhaps you should've more closely examined the Mortite areas. Then maybe you would've noticed not many of my troops are frozen. I had most of them moved here when the Mortite expanded."

"Be that as it may, they're nothing compared to powered-up Demon-types like ourselves! But if you want to fling your troops to their deaths, go right ahead. My king and I have been wanting to erase more useless filth from the world, as does my best soldier."

At that, Pugno stepped forward to flank Keldeo.

"As well as another weapon we made. You must have thought Genesect here was the only one. Magearna, prove them wrong!"

Upon hearing this order, another Pokémon stepped forward to flank Keldeo. It was a mechanical Pokémon that appeared to be wearing a dress.

"Meet our mechanical marvel, Magearna. Magearna, bid this treacherous city hello by firing at Cadence Tower."

Magearna obeyed and shot at the tower's clock, knocking its hands off and leaving a hole in the clock's face.

"Understand your situation now, Cadence?"

"Pelame, wait!" But Neve was too late to stop her daughter from running out of the Maison's property to confront the Twilight King and his loyal servant. The king took one look at Pelame and from beneath him, a platform of Mortite rose and carried him up to the top of Genesect. Pelame followed by attaching an Alpha Cord to the platform and riding it up.

"Keldeo, seize the city while I deal with Pelame," he ordered. He then glared at Pelame, who disembarked from the platform and landed on Genesect's head. She glared at the king, certainly intending a fight. "Take a look around, Pelame." He pointed to the landscape. "All of this, and all of Pocketurn… if you had only remained loyal to me, you could've had all of this, too."

"No, thank you," Pelame defiantly responded. "The kind of world I want is a peaceful one. The kind of world you want is one that's under your tyrannical control. You call that such things as 'peace', 'reason', and things like that when anyone can see it's despotism, plain and simple. All you want is control, and you'd resort to underhanded tactics such as bringing this giant robot weapon here to threaten a fellow World Leader with."

"This is what I was pushed to by the world's overwhelming ignorance. In the Twilight World of my making, which was to be _our_ making before you betrayed me, that will disappear. And as your loyalty clearly is to the world as it was, you must fade away with it."

"Just try to make me Disappear, you stabber of the back of Pocketurn itself."

Pelame readied her Alpha Power. King Kangaskhan II readied his Dark Blessing.

**"****Do not lose."**

It didn't matter to Pelame that her opponent was in his Mega Form. She executed her Quick Attack just the same. The Twilight King slammed his Request Stone on the ground, generating a dark shockwave that tripped Pelame. She was unfazed at this. Upon hitting the ground, she pointed her tail at the king and shot Alpha Lightning at him from it. Though it hit the king directly, he only barely felt it. On the other hand, Pelame took some more noticeable damage from the king's Demon Lightning. She didn't let this faze her, though; she had a world to protect.

* * *

Pandemonium and panic ran through the city of Luttney as Twilit troops contended with Blooman troops on the streets. Citizens were being brought to Maison Pumbloom for the purpose of evacuation. It was the last safe place left, and everyone hoped there'd be enough room for all on the property. Blessing, Treasure, Torden, Henry, Henri, Marie, the Llyria Academy staff, and the TIGHS members were helping with evacuation efforts while Pinna, Neve, Mori, Zeki, and the World Leaders were backing the Blooman troops up.

"Du moment que Pelame garde le roi occupé." Henri said. "Ce canon ne va pas tirer. J'espère qu'elle peut le battre pendant que nous conduisons tout le monde à la Maison Pumbloom."

"Tout ira bien Henri." Marie reassured. "Notre principale inquiétude est Keldeo. Imagine s'il arrive à passer Pinna et Neve ?"

"Dans ce cas nous devons faire vite. Tout le monde, suivez-nous !"

Despite not knowing what the brown sneasel with blue feathers said to them, the crowd of 30 or so Pokémon nearest him decided to follow him and his sister.

In a farther district of Luttney, Blessing and Treasure were double-checking to make certain nobody was left behind. So far, the results were pleasing.

"Well, after only three more once-arounds, it looks like we didn't miss anyone," Treasure said.

"Thank goodness for that," Blessing responded. "Then let's get these citizens to safety. The Twilit forces should be being kept busy enough for us to slip by. Okay, everyone, follow us!"

The crowd of thousands or more Pokémon had no intention of disobeying. They followed, but then stopped once a strange distraction arrived.

"Yes, you are!" Torden shouted at a very familiar-looking overweight noivern he and his parents were helping him restrain. "Slimy may have just as good as thrown his life away by running off, but you're not following him! And that goes for you, too, Slappy!"

"No, we're staying on _this_ side of the bars!" Slappy screamed as he escaped the grip and took off running.

"Everyone, follow those two raichu and the ampharos they're with!" Blessing commanded. "Treasure, come with me. We're taking that fat aipom with us."

"Right behind you, Blessing," Treasure replied obediently.

"Heh… your favorite direction to be with me—"

"Saving a city's citizens from imminent death isn't really a good time to be making butt jokes, Blessing!"

"Sorry… worth a try, though."

Slappy got a fairly good lead on Blessing and Treasure when he suddenly became very tired. He stopped to gasp for breath, but when he did, his chest suddenly felt a lot of pain, as though something was squeezing his heart. He collapsed to his knees and struggled to breathe.

"Dumb body… why _now_ of all times to lose energy?!" he demanded. "Don't you know we're trying to—AUGH!" He fell forward onto his face, still clutching his chest. His vision started to fade. _"This pain… I… I'm gonna die!"_ he said in his mind, terrified. He brought up his head. "Help me… please… somebody…" Just before he lost consciousness, he saw Blessing and Treasure getting closer to him.

* * *

"You know, Valk, I wish you'd come to your senses sooner," Pinna reprimanded.

"How many times do I need to say it?! I'm sorry!" Valkyrie responded to the irate vaporeon fending off Keldeo's attacks. "But what matters now is giving Keldeo what he deserves! I'll show him what happens when he tries to make me turn his Ville Agent nonsense onto a child!"

"I suppose it's my own fault for trusting someone as spineless as you with such an important task," Keldeo taunted. "It could've made that little cleffa as obedient as Pugno over there."

"Sorry, 'Captain,' but I knew better than to subject someone who was basically a _baby_ to your brainwashing. So consider this my 'screw you!' for that!" Valkyrie lashed out with an Aerial Ace. Upon hitting the Captain's face with the super-effective move, he took this chance to confer with his old friend. "I'll back that grovyle up against Pugno! You keep our 'Captain' busy!"

"Got it! Be back as soon as I can!" Pinna answered, giving his old friend the chance to back up the grovyle who was putting up a decent but ultimately futile fight against Keldeo's brainwashed soldier. An Aerial Ace put a stop to the lucario's attempt to strike Mori's face with a Power-Up Punch.

"You okay, mister?" Valk asked.

"Yeah, thanks," Mori responded.

"No problem. Wanna help me atone for serving these jerks?"

"Sure."

"Good. 'Cause we're fighting to kill now. Well, not Pugno, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, though I'd like it not to come to that."

"Well, all the same, don't let down your guard."

Mori obeyed the gliscor's advice by jumping to avoid Pugno's incoming Close Combat. He landed on Pugno's shoulders, where he was then wrestled and held to the ground. Focusing on Mori proved to be a mistake, as Valk landed a hit right on the back of Pugno's head with Acrobatics. The hit knocked Pugno out cold, causing him to loosen his grip on Mori.

"You and your mom take this guy into the Maison!" Valk ordered. "Leave my old army to me."

"You sure?" Mori asked.

"Certain. I can be downright nasty in combat. Now go!"

Mori did as ordered and went with his mother and unconscious opponent.

* * *

"Hmph… you're only lasting this long because I trained you to be a formidable fighter," Keldeo said to Pinna. Both Pokémon had taken equal amounts of damage at this point. "Your amazing performance during the Swadfrieg War could've been repeated here."

"It _is_ being repeated," Pinna responded. "On the side that has it coming: yours!"

"Well, I'm glad to be the one fighting you. Since you betrayed us, I'd been hoping to be the one to kill you. Death on the battlefield, for a country that won't even last until the next hour. My ideal scenario for your execution!"

Pinna blocked Keldeo's Sacred Sword lunge with an Alpha Barrier, which broke upon repelling the attack.

_"__Urgh… I gotta take Alpha Barrier lessons from Pelame…"_ Pinna noted to himself. He ducked under another lunge from his opponent and slid underneath the equine Pokémon. _"To Suffering with defensive fighting anyway!"_ From his tail, Pinna shot out a stream of Alpha Fire, burning Keldeo's judicial robes. He then bit at the straps of the armor underneath, undoing them. Keldeo now only had his helmet on. Neve jumped onto his back and removed it, hitting him in the mouth with an Ice Shard. The shard of ice propped Keldeo's mouth open for merely seconds as he melted it with a breath of Demon Fire. He blasted Neve with the evil flame technique directly. Outraged at this, Pinna got onto Keldeo's back and held on tightly. His Alpha Power was ready, and any soldiers nearby immediately recognized what Pinna was doing. Neve poured her remaining energy into creating an Alpha Barrier around the spot the three of them were occupying, blocking any attempt to rescue Keldeo. The captain would've normally been able to easily shake an opponent off his back, but his fight with Pinna had taken a toll on him. In the end, he was unable to save himself from being Purified. Pinna finished by knocking his old captain out and tying him up with an Alpha Cord.

"Looks like the sun just set on your jurisdiction, Sunbutt," he said proudly to his defeated opponent. He then faced the scared Twilit troops. "Oh, you pipsqueaks wanna be next, huh?!"

They all backed off, wanting to maintain their Dark Blessings.

"Yeah, exactly." He and his exhausted wife took Keldeo to the Maison as a prisoner.

* * *

By now, all of the survivors who were able to get to the Maison alive were fully protected. No one was left for the Twilit Army to threaten President Cadence with. Pelame and the Twilight King both noticed this.

"See? They don't want the world to be yours!" Pelame said sternly to the despot before her. "Your forces no longer have anyone to threaten or kill. You've lost, 'your highness'."

The king seemed unfazed by this development.

"It only appears to be that way because you're still standing, Pelame," he replied. "Were you not in front of me delaying me, Pumbloomberg would've fallen by now. I can attend to it later. All that matters to me now is you. You are the single obstacle keeping me from gaining total control of Pocketurn."

"You should've considered that before setting out on this insane quest of yours. There was no way I would ever let you do something so evil. Many Pokémon died on your way to this, and it doesn't seem to matter to you that some of those dead Pokémon are your own soldiers. Some of those Pokémon dead in this very city's streets are your own forces, and my father just Purified Keldeo. Before now, your outrageous claims to be working in the world's best interest could've been believed. Now your madness and megalomania is clear to everyone, even to some who were with you before."

To that, the king said nothing. There wasn't anything he could say to counter his foe's words. He opted to counter with a Hyper Beam. Pelame simply dodged it and fired back with a volley of Alpha Orbs. Each of them hit their mark, as did her subsequent Swift attack. The rescued citizens, Pelame's friends and family, and all others watching from within the Maison's property cheered as Pelame gained the advantage. Tastebud, however, felt very uneasy.

"Get him, sweetie!" Pinna cheered. "Teach my ex-boss his lesson!"

"You've got him, my dear!" Neve added. "You're doing great!"

All the accolades going to Pelame made it clearer what the world wanted. Whether or not Pelame was aware of the cheering she was receiving, she wasn't letting the king have a chance to retaliate. She was finally going to defeat her opponent and save Pocketurn. She advanced on him.

**"****It's all over."**

"Pocketurn isn't yours, Kangaskhan II!"

"GET HIM!" shouted everyone who was watching.

During the cheering, Mori almost didn't notice a peculiar sight about Pelame.

"Is she… growing a ribbon…?" he asked. Then a moment later… "Tastebud? What are…?"

Tastebud suddenly left the Maison's protective field and floated up to Genesect's head, landing in front of Pelame.

"Forgive me, Pelame…" he said as he knocked her out with Hypnosis. He turned and did the same to the Twilight King. The king suddenly vanished even though he was unconscious. Though he was perturbed at this, he picked up Pelame and brought her to one of the Maison's bedrooms. He tucked her in and left in a hurry.


	53. The Lake's Visitor

**A/N: Thanks again to Naguro for the French translations.**

* * *

Chapter 53 – The Lake's Visitor

* * *

**"What a miserable performance that was, losing to Pelame so completely. Perhaps it was a mistake giving my power to you."**

The Twilight King had nothing to say. He simply remained on the throne within the Genesect Control Deck.

**"Perhaps I should've left you on Genesect's head and allowed you to be taken by my old acquaintance. I must say you're getting to be very unfit to rule the Twilight World."**

No response.

**"Well, just do what you feel, then. Genesis Day is tomorrow, after all."**

* * *

"How is he?" Pelame asked.

"Well, we're trying to get through to him," Valk answered. "But Keldeo got deep into his mind with that Ville Agent programming."

"I guess Eurekon has become as bad as the rest of them," Pinna added. "She's not used her psychic power to do that since before the Swadfrieg War. Then again, I don't recall her promising that she's never use that ability again."

"Well, whoever this Eurekon is," said the hypno attempting to break into Pugno's mind with his psychic power. The unconscious lucario was strapped to a table. "Her power's certainly fearsome. What species is the culprit, anyway?"

"Eurekon's a gardevoir," Valk answered.

"Even still, this is impenetrable so far. I mean, Pinna's Purification of Pugno helped, but now there's the Ville Agent programming itself to deal with. I don't suppose you managed to capture Eurekon, did you?"

"No, but I got Keldeo," Pinna answered. "But that won't be much help, since he can take any torture without cracking. And no, Remlit, don't try to invade his mind; he has a metal implant in his skull that blocks psychic power like that."

"That figures…" Remlit returned to Pugno. "I'll try again once he wakes up. He shouldn't be able to break out of those restraints. I'll need full concentration, so I must ask you all to leave."

"Got it. Good luck, Mr. Remlit," Pelame said kindly, leaving with her father and his old military friend.

"How is he doing?" Mori asked, having waited outside Remlit's room for Pelame to emerge. Pinna and Valk left the two alone.

"He's Purified now, but not free of that Ville Agent trick. It got really deep into his mind."

"I see. I can't believe that kind of brainwashing still exists. I hope he can get better."

"Me too. How's your dad doing?"

"Well, he's bedridden for now, but he's alive and awake."

"That's wonderful!"

"Yeah. Mom and I were so overjoyed. Later tonight, when he gets his stamina back, he wants to talk to you."

"He does? What about?"

"I don't know. But he _does_ owe you an apology. I just hope he remembers that. How about you, Pelame? Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah… I just wish Tastebud hadn't gotten in my way _when I was about to defeat the Twilight King_."

"Yeah, that was frustrating. But maybe he had a reason to do that."

"Maybe, but I'm still definitely giving him a piece of my mind next time I see him. In fact, where is he?!"

At that moment, Pelame felt a sudden chill run up her spine. It was a telltale sign that Tastebud was lurking in her shadow. She quickly turned around only to find a piece of paper with writing on it. Mori picked it up and read it.

_"'To my dearest Pelame'—_ Oh, goodness… he wrote that?! _'I'm very sorry for stopping you from Purifying the Twilight King. I know defeating him meant a lot to you, but you were beginning to evolve. I saw a ribbon growing out of your neck'—_so did I! _'I still want to help you save the world, so I went around looking for Legendary Pokémon to help shed some light on all this. But I couldn't find any of them, except for Manaphy. He's found some strange ruins in Loch Bloomere. He's taken up temporary residence there and has found lots of interesting things in it…well, interesting to him, but it's not helpful to us. But there's one room he can't get into for whatever reason. He let me know about it, I mentioned you to him and how you could help, and now he wants to meet you'—_Uh, he _does_ know this is Manaphy he's talking about, right? _'On a…few conditions…'—_Yep, here comes the part that'll live up to the historical documents about him. _'He forbids you to bring any water-type Pokémon with you, whether or not they can breathe underwater. He does want you to bring with you Pokémon fitting these descriptions:_

_A Pokémon whose body is either primarily green or primarily pink'—_ Ah, well, I fit that description perfectly." Mori turned himself around in a full circle to prove it.

"Oh, you'll go with me there?" Pelame asked.

"Of course!" Mori answered. "Should I continue?"

"Certainly. *snicker* I'd like to hear what other ridiculous things popped into Manaphy's head."

"Hee hee… me too. _'A Pokémon who has a nicely sized pelvis._

_A Pokémon who is good at flying, but not so good at swimming._

_A Pokémon who has a hand at the end of something other than the arms._

_A Pokémon who has a tattoo or a design of any kind on the part of their body they use to sit down._

_A Pokémon who has a body part resembling a weapon._

_A Pokémon with an open flame on their body._

_A Pokémon who is a shiny celebrity._

_That's the end of his odd list. Manaphy won't grant you an audience without them. Again, I don't know why he's asking this, but he needs your help. Plus, he also wants one Pokémon per requirement. He won't accept a Pokémon who fulfills two requirements. Anyway, see you soon, my dearest._

_Love,  
Tastebud'"_

Pelame and Mori looked at each other, ideas appearing in their heads.

"Let me read that list again," Mori suggested.

"Go ahead," Pelame said. "I'll stop you when you get to someone we know who fits the description."

"Okay. '_A Pokémon whose body is either primarily green or primarily pink'_"  
"You."  
"_'A Pokémon who has a nicely-sized pelvis.'_"  
"Blessing. And _goodness_ does she not let anyone forget that."  
"Heh, indeed. _'A Pokémon who is good at flying but not so good at swimming.'_"  
Pelame remained silent and shrugged.  
"_'A Pokémon who has a hand at the end of something other than the arms.'_"  
"Well, Slappy, but I doubt he'd come with us."  
"It's worth a try. Anyway, _'A Pokémon who has a tattoo or a design of any kind on the part of their body they use to sit down.'_"  
"If it weren't for that 'no two requirements on one Pokémon' stipulation, I'd say Blessing, on account of the fact that she has a surgery scar on her behind. Team Static implanted an Everstone there that has since been removed."  
"I don't imagine she enjoyed that. _'A Pokémon who has a body part resembling a weapon.'_"  
"Sickle."  
"_'A Pokémon who has an open flame on their body.'_"  
"Weston."  
"_'A Pokémon who is a shiny celebrity.'_"  
"Selena."  
"Okay, then. Except for that tattoo/design one, we've got a diving party."

"Not quite yet. We still have to persuade them to go with us. Our friends might be willing to, and Selena's a bit adventurous, but Slappy, Sickle, and whoever the tattooed one and good-flier-bad-swimmer end up being will be harder sells."

To that, Mori stopped himself from responding once he realized he had none to give. Pelame hit the nail completely on the head.

"But not impossible. I mean, the entire world is at stake here. Who'd turn down a chance to help us all survive?"

Now, words popped into Mori's mind and could leave his mouth.

"Nobody. Let's give it a shot, then."

* * *

In a moderately-sized room on the Maison's second floor, in one of its beds lie Slappy. The overweight aipom's eyes opened slowly, to his own surprise.

"I'm…alive…?" he wondered. He glanced down to his chest, which he immediately noticed was no longer in pain. Not only that, but he found that he was able to move around freely without any pain. Looking around the room, he saw multiple methods he could use to escape: windows, a door to a bathroom with a window out, and a door out. He chose the door. Of course, being short as he was, he couldn't reach the doorknob. Even his tail hand couldn't reach it, even when he got down on all fours and pointing his rear up as high as it would go to try to give more reach. That approach didn't work, so he tried climbing onto the bed closest to the door and reaching from there. This time, he was able to reach it. It wouldn't open no matter how much he tried to force it to. He tried everything to turn the knob, even jumping off the bed and using the force of his fall to try turning it. It didn't work, and his failed attempt left him hanging by his tail. He landed roughly on his hands and feet upon letting go.

"Nice house design, putting a lock on the _outside_ of the door!"

The door was no longer an option, so he tried one of the windows next. To his delight, the window's lock budged, allowing the window to be opened. It took him some effort, but he got the window open. He then turned himself around and gently climbed down from the windowsill. When he dropped down to the window below, something stopped him at his ears. He began to scream, but upon remembering that somebody could catch him escaping, he covered his mouth with his hands and screamed into them. He tried climbing back up and going back out the window, facing forward this time. He sat down on the windowsill and pushed himself off the edge, intending to grab the windowsill below with his tail hand. Just like with what happened to his ears, he was stopped at his tail. It hurt, but not enough to make him scream. This time, the position he was in made it impossible for him to climb back up. He tried in vain to climb back up, but his tail couldn't hoist his abnormal body weight up. His strength was mainly in his arms, which gave him no trouble when he used them earlier to pull himself up. But now, with his weaker-in-comparison tail unable to help, and with the windowsill out of reach of his arms, he was stuck there. The cold weather had made the Maison's walls freezing on the outside, and now Slappy's bottom was touching it. The situation was very uncomfortable for him. After hanging there for about ten minutes, he felt something pull him back into the room he attempted to escape from. He found himself in the hands of a delphox who shut the window and warmed the room up with his fire wand.

"Hey, aren't you Swadfrieg's Prime Minister?" Slappy asked.

"Until it got taken over, that is," Magus answered. "This Maison is the last safe place left in the entire world. That gets me wondering why in the world you'd want to escape it."

"Well, I _did_ almost die of a heart attack!"

"Which goes to show you just what harm you did to your body," said an audino who just entered the room. "The aipom species simply does _not_ have a heart attack at the age of seventeen! And honestly, from the glimpse of your body I got while I was trying to reach your heart to calm it down, you should've been dead weeks ago! All that fat of yours is purely sugar and salt junk food-induced fat. I suppose that makes sense considering you're the idiot hoodlum who robbed all of Chestebury's richest sweet shops."

"Well, how else was I going to get the Syndicate's attention and gain the weight I needed to join?!"

"Wait a minute; you stole food to fatten yourself up with _just_ to join a gang?!" Pelame demanded, having entered the room just in time to hear that part of the conversation. Along with her came Mori, Professor Adorbs, Blessing, Treasure, Henri, and Marie.

"Ah, good, Ma'am Adorbs, you're here," said the audino doctor. "You're in time to hear something possibly important from this rascal."

"Okay, first, tell _me_ some things," Slappy demanded. "What am I doing here and why couldn't I climb out the window even though I fit perfectly?!"

"You're here because this is Pocketurn's last remaining safe haven. The rest of Luttney's under a military lockdown, so you couldn't very well be put in jail, so Supreme Court Justice Powell saw fit to place you under house arrest, confining you to this very room. Oh, and that accompanying bathroom, too. Punishment for your time in the Syndicate, you know. And since you're under room arrest, that's why you can't leave this room, not even through the window."

"Heh, I sure hope it was worth freezing your butt off trying, though!" Blessing taunted.

"Shut up, thunder thighs!" Slappy snapped. "I'd make wimps like you mine in a real jail!"

"Oh, _please_. _I've_ been to _two_ 'real jails' and came out of both of them alive. I'm sure my butt can take whatever pathetic punishment _you_ can dish out." She placed her hands on her hips. "In fact, want a free shot?"

"Oui Mademoiselle Blessing il ya du monde a la cave. ON A COMPRIS, VOUS AVEZ DE GROSSES FESSES ! VOS FESSES SONT ÉNORMES ! VOS FESSES SONT LARGES ! VOS FESSES SONT MAGNIFIQUE, TELLEMENT QUE VOUS PENSEZ STUPIDEMENT, IDIOTEMMMPH MM MMM— !" Henri's rant was stopped by Marie, who covered his mouth at an opportune time.

"Du calme Henri. Laisse la juste le faire avec le gangster raté. Je te libèrerai quand tu te seras calmé." Marie consoled her brother.

Henri took some deep breaths. While this was going on, Blessing and Slappy were still at it.

"You slap worse than a baby seel!" Blessing taunted.

"Ohhohoho… you want a REAL attack? How about a _PUNCH_ to that nice and sexy butt of yours?!" Slappy retorted, clenching his tail hand into a fist. Pelame put an Alpha Barrier between the two.

"That's enough, already!" she scolded. "Slappy, what endeared the Syndicate to you, anyway?"

"Well, that's easy: I wanted to have some fun before the world died at Unod's hands! Genesis Day's tomorrow, so now I no longer have that chance! I'm gonna die unfulfilled!"

"Wait, you think being a criminal is fun?!"

"Well, no, but the stuff criminals have easy access to are the best in the world! The sweetest foods and delicacies, the richest wines to get pissed on, the nicest clothing only the snooties can wear, all that nice stuff I never got to do. Of course, I never got to date a sexy lady."

"Yeah, because you opted instead to try to punch her in the butt," Blessing commented.

"Well, I can arrange that if you want, you dirty tart!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Pelame said, pointing to the still active Alpha Barrier.

"So, Genesis Day had to do with your brief life of crime?" Adorbs asked.

"Yep, 'cause that's the day Unod kills the world. So really, what else is there to do in the world? I just… thought it was my last chance…"

"I see. It seems despair factored in to your decision. I'm sorry you felt that way, but things aren't as bleak as they look."

"HOW?! HOW ARE THEY NOT?! DID YOU SOMEHOW MISS UNOD THREATENING THE WHOLE WORLD ALL THOSE WEEKS AGO?!"

"No," Pelame answered. "And it wasn't Unod making that threat. It was Nihilda."

"Who?"

"An ancestor of mine. You see…"

Pelame explained all she currently knew about the threat facing the world.

"And let me guess: _I'm_ the one who's a 'Pokémon with a hand at the end of something other than the arms?' I mean, I am, but you think I'm gonna go with you?"

"Well, you _do_ want a world to—"

"You didn't let me finish. My answer is 'yes,' but only because I do want to stay alive. I don't want some crazy spirit—or rather, some crazy Pokémon-turned-psuedo-Immortal—killing me and Pocketurn. Of course, good luck finding someone with a butt tattoo."

"Thanks, Slappy!"

"Now, just a moment," the audino doctor interjected. "Slappy's under room arrest. It's up to Justice Powell to decide whether or not he goes. Of course, with these circumstances, he can't possibly refuse, but all the same, we still have to run it by him."

"Then while you're doing that, we'll find the last remaining Pokémon Manaphy asked for," Mori suggested.

"Good idea. Meet back here when you do."

"Got it. Let's get looking, Pelame."

* * *

In a hidden jail room of the Maison, Keldeo was very heavily restrained and hanging upside-down by his feet. PP-Zero bracelets chained him to the wall, and a Chople Scarf was tied around his mouth, silencing him if he were to be the kind of Pokémon to cry out for help. He had been trying to struggle out of his bonds, but to no avail. He couldn't remember the last time someone was able to keep him bound for this long. And with his tail shaved off, he wasn't able to use that to help out however he could've. The door to his chamber opened, and in came Pinna, Valk, and Benedict. Pinna undid the scarf from Keldeo's mouth.

"So, how is it being a P.O.W. yourself?" Pinna asked mockingly. "Funny how you're in the exact spot you swore you'd never be in again! Ah, but what good were your 'promises,' anyway?"

"Yes, yes, have your little irony laugh at my expense," Keldeo responded proudly. "Doesn't mean His Majesty will lose the war. Heh heh… you all might as well have already lost!"

"Hmph… overconfident as ever. The king will lose. If it's not to Pelame, it'll be to Nihilda."

"Nihilda?"

"Heh… I knew you wouldn't know. Let's just say Nihilda's pulling your precious king's strings and will likely be his murderer."

"Oh, you mean Unod? _Who's_ the one who knows nothing?"

"The Twilight King. See, while he and the rest of you were busy trying to conquer the world, my daughter's been investigating the Dark Blessing further and further to get ready to face you all."

"Ever wonder how she ended up being more than a match for your precious king?" Valk asked.

"Exactly. And not only that, but she's found out lots more things. Why, she knows more about the Dark Blessing than even the Twilight King."

"And since when has knowing things ever been enough to win a war, huh?!" Keldeo shouted back. "You know, Pinna, from your service to our army, that it makes more than knowledge to win. Being a deserter from the Twilit Army sure has softened you, Pinna, and I can only assume the same happened to the two of you as well."

"Bite me, Keldeo," Benedict said scornfully. "I don't show my vicious side to my friends. But you're no friend of mine."

"HAH! You think you can hurt me?!"

"Pinna, Valk, can I have a moment alone with Keldeo?"

"Sure," Pinna and Valk answered. They left Benedict to mercilessly bludgeon their former captain.

"Think he'll be okay?" Valk asked.

"Hopefully Keldeo's big nose breaks," Pinna responded. "Too bad his will won't."

"Whose will won't what now?" Pelame asked as she and Mori walked by the two on the grounds.

"Oh, nothing, Pelame. We were just having fun torturing our old captain. I mean, he'll never crack and reveal anything actually useful to us, but it's not like we can't find out with other methods, right?"

"Well, he sure takes after his king, huh?" Mori said. "One has to wonder how he came to admire such an insane tyrant."

"Well, the king wasn't always crazy, you know. Of course, that's exactly what the problem is now, as well as the fact that he doesn't realize he's being completely manipulated by Nihilda. I mean, for crying out loud, he probably doesn't even know who Nihilda is! I mean, Keldeo didn't until just moments ago."

"*sigh* The Twilight World might as well not be theirs."

"The world won't be theirs, anyway. As I understand it, you're still investigating Nihilda-related matters, right?"

"Yes," Pelame answered. "Oh! That reminds me: Mr. Valk, are you good at flying?"

"Uh… you think I have these for decoration?" Valk answered, showing his wings.

"Hee hee… no. But, how are you at swimming?"

"Oh, I suck at that. I mean, I can do it, but I'm terrible at it."

"Perfect! Come with us, then!"

"Come with you for what? Huh?"

Pelame and Mori explained the situation.

"Yep, this Manaphy guy definitely sounds like a weirdo. All right, I'll come along."

"Thanks!"

"Good luck on this lake adventure," Pinna said to his daughter. "Let me know what you find out, okay?"

"Certainly, dad. But what about you? What'll you be doing?"

"Oh, I've got plans. When you return, hopefully they'll be realized, and the Twilit Army will have fallen for good. Then nothing will distract you from Nihilda anymore."

"That's brilliant! Thanks, dad!"

The father and daughter exchanged a quick hug and went off to their tasks. Valk followed Pelame and Mori into the Maison.

"So, that still leaves a Pokémon with a rear end tattoo, or something similar," Pelame said. "I wonder if—"

"Hey Pelame!" Weston called out from the top of the foyer's stairs. "I found somebody you're looking for!" He pointed to Immolga and Sickle next to him.

"My tail resembles a weapon, so looks like I'm going to see Manaphy," Sickle said.

"And I just got this today," Immolga added, showing the Alpha Sigil that was on his rear end.

"How so?" Pelame asked, averting her gaze after seeing the Sigil.

"Eh, just having some fun with some captured Twilit soldiers. Guess one of them was still a Demon-type."

"Convenient. And speaking of that, I need to Purify them before we go."

"Well, why not do that while I go talk to Selena?" Mori volunteered.

"Okay. Let's meet at the Maison's front porch."

"Got it." Pelame went off to Purify the captured soldiers while Mori went to see Selena, who was staying in the east wing of the first floor.

* * *

"Whew… good thing we finished shooting before that invasion, huh?" Selena asked Rapid.

"Yep," Rapid answered. "I don't know how many more times you planned to drown yourself for the ending, but I don't think I'd want to."

"Oh, don't concern yourself so much. I was perfectly fine. By the way, how's it looking in the editing? Any way I can see it before release?"

"You're honestly asking that of the one who got promoted to editor?" Rapid held up his keys to the editing room. "Though, honestly, you should just leave it all to me and wait until the premiere." He opened the editing room and entered. "Just trust me on this, okay?"

"Okay, then."

Rapid went into the editing room, closing it behind him. Outside, Selena walked off of the film production area set up on the Maison's grounds and ran into Mori on the way.

"Oh, hello there…um…please forgive me for forgetting your name…"

"Oh, it's no problem. We haven't met that often. I'm Morikain," Mori introduced. "For short, just call me Mori. Did you finish that movie you were in?"

"Yep. Luckily, we finished before that invasion happened. It's being edited and having special effects added to it. I just wish I could have a sneak peek at it. I'd hate for a bad take to make it into the movie."

"Oh, they won't let that happen."

"Eh, it has a few times… of course, Rapid insists I did just fine whenever I objected. And he's also said I'm too much of a perfectionist. So, how about you? I mean, there's probably not much to do considering the military lockdown we're on right now, but are you up to anything?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. You see, my friend Pelame is investigating the Dark Blessing, and Manaphy needs to see her about it—"

"Let me guess: I fit one of the ridiculous descriptions Manaphy asked for?"

"How…how did you know?" Mori asked in awe.

"I didn't major in history, but in my education days, I did learn about Manaphy and his fascination with land Pokémon. So…which description do I fit? Blue rings?"

"He asked for a 'shiny celebrity.'"

"Oh. Well, that's me. I'd be happy to go. When do we leave?"

"Whenever she's ready. We'll wait on the Maison's front porch."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Although not all of the invading Twilit Soldiers had been captured, more than half of them had. After nearly an hour and a half, she was finished Purifying them all. She checked herself, relieved to find that she was still an eevee. Right about this time, she figured the traveling party was ready to go to the lake. She left the holding area where the captured soldiers were, but decided to make a stop. She tracked down the room Pugno was being held in. He was strapped to a chair, staring ahead in a catatonic state. She walked up to him carefully.

"Pugno, can you hear me?" Pelame asked.

No response.

"Pugno… I… I know we drifted apart, but… my heart had room for you still. I really missed you, Pugno."

No response, although she noticed his head was lower than it was originally.

"I can't imagine how hard life must have been for you in the Twilit Army. I can't imagine you did anything truly evil like what Keldeo would do. I just hope I'm not wrong about that. But back at Hizeme Prison, when you freed us, I think I understood: your heart wasn't in it after all. And I'm…I'm proud of you, Pugno. Thank you. Thanks… for never ceasing to be you."

Having nothing left to say, Pelame left the room.

"Thank you, Pelame," Pugno said. "And I'm sorry."

Pelame stopped in her tracks.

"Please, Pelame, save Pocketurn. You can do it."

Pelame turned back and smiled at Pugno.

"I'll do my best. Thank you, Pugno." She climbed up to Pugno.

"No, Pelame, don't try to free me."

"Why not?"

"Because my Ville Agent programming hasn't been broken yet. I'm out of its control for now, but there's a phrase that reactivates it. I don't know what that phrase is, so I don't want to risk you or anyone else saying it by accident and making me go crazy."

"I see."

Just then, Remlit entered.

"Oh?! Did you get through to him?"

"I think so."

"Remlit, please help me," Pugno begged. "Now's your chance. Pelame, leave me to Remlit."

"Okay. See you later, Pugno."

Pelame left Remlit to deal with Pugno.

"Ah, there you are."

Pelame looked behind herself and saw Zaki standing there.

"Oh, Zaki! You're okay!" Pelame said, relieved.

"I sure am," Zaki responded. "Mainly thanks to you. Although, that whole situation could've been avoided if I wasn't so angry at you. Can you ever forgive me for not listening to you about saving my son's life?"

"Mr. Zaki, if Mori were my son, I'd have done the same thing. Of course I can and do forgive you."

"Even though I don't deserve it, I'm grateful. And I wish you lots of luck in defeating the Dark Blessing once and for all."

"Thanks. I'll do my best."

She then bid Zaki goodbye and made her way to the Maison's front porch. There, her traveling party was waiting for her.

"We're ready to go if you are, Pelame," Mori said. "Ready?"

"Yep," Pelame answered. "Let's go."

"So, how are we getting to the lake, anyway?" Weston asked. "There's lots of Twilit troops out there."

"Dad and some others with him are keeping them at bay. The path should be clear."

"So, when we get to the lake, then what? Where at the lake is he meeting us exactly?"

* * *

"UNDER IT?!" Blessing and Slappy both shouted.

"Yeah, he's waiting in the ruins under the lake," Pelame answered.

"Now, wait a minute. Why didn't we bring underwater breathing gear?" Blessing asked apprehensively.

"Manaphy considers it cheating. He'd deny us an audience if we reached him with rebreathers."

"So we need to _drown_ ourselves before he'll tell us anything?!"

"No, Blessing, there's a way to sustain ourselves. Stick your head under the water and look at the plants."

"*sign* fine…" Blessing knelt down, took a breath, and stuck her head under the water. Slappy formed a fist with his tail hand and got ready to punch Blessing's upturned bottom. Pelame put up an Alpha Barrier to block the ambush attempt. Just then, Blessing came back up for air. "So, what was I looking for? Those blue kelp-looking things?"

"Exactly." Pelame walked to the shore. "Everyone, those plants are going to make sure we make it to the lake ruins alive. They're called bronchelp. Observe."

Mori followed Pelame into the lake, diving in after her. The both of them swam down to a bed of bronchelp. Pelame grabbed one in her mouth, Mori grabbed on in his hands, and both tugged on them. They were plucked rather easily, and when they were, gigantic air bubbles were released from the spots they were plucked from. Pelame and Mori stuck their heads into the bubbles and took a deep breath. The bubbles disappeared into their noses upon doing this, resetting their air supply. They then swam back to the shore.

"Just tug on the bronchelp and breathe the bubble in," Mori advised.

"So, basically, just like every underwater level from every video game ever," Immolga summarized.

"I suppose you could put it that way. It's possible those games got that idea from bronchelp."

"Then, could anybody have been doing underwater explorations for as long as they wanted with that stuff growing there?" Sickle asked.

"No," Pelame answered. "Bronchelp only grows wherever Manaphy currently is. He plants it all himself."

"Oh, how nice of him," Slappy said with sarcastic gratitude.

"Is everyone ready, then?"

The others nodded in agreement.

"Okay. Follow Mori and I. We'll lead you there. Stay on the path of bronchelp."

Pelame and Mori dove into the lake, followed by their large group. The path was a straightforward one, marked by the bronchelp. There was more than enough to last the travelers the entire swim to the ruins at the bottom of the lake. It was located at a very deep spot, so deep that it wouldn't have been visible from above the lake even if the water got to be its clearest. The bronchelp path went into the ruins, but upon swimming inside, they found that it cut off. Upon entering, they were greeted by the Ocean King himself. His antennae glowed, the light surrounding the travelers.

"Per this spell I put on you," Manaphy said. "You can all stop holding your breath because you can all not only breathe underwater, but you can now also speak underwater."

Everyone took in a deep breath, finding that there had indeed been a helpful spell cast on them.

"Good of you all to come here. Welcome. I'm Manaphy the Ocean King, as I'm sure you know. So, let me check you all out…" Manaphy swam over to the travelers, closely examining each and every one of them. He liked what he saw on each of them. "Yep, everyone's here! You all look great! Okay, inspection over, back to the surface with you all!" Manaphy placed everyone except Pelame into bubbles and sent them back up to the lake's surface. "Now then, Pelame, onto business."

"Wait, no one else is coming with us?" Pelame asked.

"Of course not! What you're here for is none of their business! I just wanted to check out more land Pokémon! Oh, and thanks for obeying my order to not bring any of those stupid land-dwelling Water-types with you. Except for Suicune, they're all an insult to the water on our planet!"

Though Pelame said nothing, she couldn't help but feel offended for her father's sake.

"But enough about them. Come with me, and I'll show you the weird thing I told Tastebud to mention. And he's waiting there for you, by the way."

Pelame followed Manaphy deep into the ruins. There was nothing much to note as far as Pelame was concerned as the trip went on. To her, it just looked like ordinary underwater ruins.

"Isn't all this stuff neat? To think the land-dwellers respected me and my royal line so much to dedicate an entire building to me! I'm so flattered! Of course, I'd be _more_ flattered if I could get behind this door here. According to what Tastebud told me, you could open it. So hurry up and do it!"

"All right. Just give me a moment to concentrate," Pelame answered. She then tapped deep into her Alpha Power, causing the door to respond by vanishing.

"I knew you could do it, Pelame, my dear," Tastebud complimented, emerging from the shadows.

"Yes! Now I can finally see this room!" Manaphy raced inside, and then left almost as soon as he entered. "Hmph… well, _that_ was a giant letdown. Explore it if you two want, but you'll be very unimpressed. And just so you know, that breathing spell I put on you will break once you resurface, so you can take all the time you want looking at that boring junk."

Manaphy then stormed off. Pelame and Tastebud shrugged and then entered the chamber. Inside, there was just one lonely mural. It depicted a sunset-struck horizon. There were shadows that vaguely resembled ribbons on the ground. On the ground were words.

"_'Light and dark. When separate, opposites. When joined, everything. Everything began as nothing. Nothing gave way to everything. Twilight: the combination of light and dark, the first things. When joined, twilight becomes everything. When true twilight shines on the world on Genesis Day, the true everything will appear. The relinquished power of Arceus, the Alpha. The power of everything, the power that gives and creates life. The Source of All.'_"

Upon reading those words, it all became to clear to Pelame and Tastebud. Pelame quickly took out her Pocketurn legends anthology book and turned to its blank spots. There were still many, but she found that it had more words to it now. Pelame began reading.

"_"The eevee, with her children and her Immortal friends beside her, watched in joy as the Source of All shined before them. The eevee stepped forth toward the light and began glowing. A ribbon grew from her neck and the back of her left ear. It suddenly grabbed the small dark mass named Unod, and it also grabbed Darkrai as well as a small ball of dark energy being held by a gengar. Once all those merged with her, her glow became dark. The Source of All had been spilling out unidentified life forms until this point. It was now spilling out dark energy. Soon, it quit shining, as Genesis Day had ended. In front of where it was stood a creature. Its fur coat was cream pink. Its head, ears, and tail were pink. It wore a ribbon on its neck and ear. Its ribbons extended from the bows, each ribbon ending in a blue color similar to that of its eyes.'_"

"I remember that…" Tastebud said sadly. "I didn't know it then, but that was when she betrayed the whole world."

After that passage Pelame finished, there was another gap before another new passage began. Those words effectively served as an ending to the missing chapter, as the next page was where the book's familiar content began.

"_'It was then that the Prophet of the End fell to the original Alpha. Upon her dying breath, she made a vow._

_'The fate of all things is to end, and only I can decide when. Existence's destiny has become my decision and mine alone. Defeating me here has done nothing but delay the inevitable. Soon, a descendant of your line, which my lineage lives on through, shall take on my form. That one will be the Sylveon of Light to match me as the Sylveon of Darkness. At that time, I will truly return and gain the Source of All. Then, existence itself will begin its path to fading away. Until then, the world will go on its oblivious way, unaware that I ever was. But when I begin to become an acting force, memories of me will slowly return, so the world will learn its proper place. Its proper place is the primordial void. Twilight will shine on the world on the day of my return, and the world will return to being one plane of existence and begin its return to nothingness. Sylveon of Light, whoever you may be, let us meet on that fated day, the day the world becomes Twilight!'_

_Upon uttering those prophetic words, the Prophet of the End collapsed dead before her child.'_"

"The Twilight World…" Pelame uttered, now knowing the Twilight King's place.


	54. Last Resort

**A/N: Thanks again to Naguro for the translation work.**

* * *

Chapter 54 – Last Resort

* * *

In a hidden jail room of the Maison, Keldeo was very heavily restrained and hanging upside-down by his feet. PP-Zero bracelets chained him to the wall, and a Chople Scarf was tied around his mouth, silencing him if he were to be the kind of Pokémon to cry out for help. He had been trying to struggle out of his bonds, but to no avail. He couldn't remember the last time someone was able to keep him bound for this long. And with his tail shaved off, he wasn't able to use that to help out however he could've. The door to his chamber opened, and in came Pinna, Valk, and Benedict. Pinna undid the scarf from Keldeo's mouth.

"So, how is it being a P.O.W. yourself?" Pinna asked mockingly. "Funny how you're in the exact spot you swore you'd never be in again! Ah, but what good were your 'promises,' anyway?"

"Yes, yes, have your little irony laugh at my expense," Keldeo responded proudly. "Doesn't mean His Majesty will lose the war. Heh heh… you all might as well have already lost!"

"Hmph… overconfident as ever. The king will lose. If it's not to Pelame, it'll be to Nihilda."

"Nihilda?"

"Heh… I knew you wouldn't know. Let's just say Nihilda's pulling your precious king's strings and will likely be his murderer."

"Oh, you mean Unod? _Who's_ the one who knows nothing?"

"The Twilight King. See, while he and the rest of you were busy trying to conquer the world, my daughter's been investigating the Dark Blessing further and further to get ready to face you all."

"Ever wonder how she ended up being more than a match for your precious king?" Valk asked.

"Exactly. And not only that, but she's found out lots more things. Why, she knows more about the Dark Blessing than even the Twilight King."

"And since when has knowing things ever been enough to win a war, huh?!" Keldeo shouted back. "You know, Pinna, from your service to our army, that it makes more than knowledge to win. Being a deserter from the Twilit Army sure has softened you, Pinna, and I can only assume the same happened to the two of you as well."

"Bite me, Keldeo," Benedict said scornfully. "I don't show my vicious side to my friends. But you're no friend of mine."

"HAH! You think you can hurt me?!"

"Pinna, Valk, can I have a moment alone with Keldeo?"

"Sure," Pinna and Valk answered. They left Benedict to mercilessly bludgeon their former captain.

"Think he'll be okay?" Valk asked.

"Hopefully Keldeo's big nose breaks," Pinna responded. "Too bad his will won't."

"Whose will won't what now?" Pelame asked as she and Mori walked by the two on the grounds.

"Oh, nothing, Pelame. We were just having fun torturing our old captain. I mean, he'll never crack and reveal anything actually useful to us, but it's not like we can't find out with other methods, right?"

"Well, he sure takes after his king, huh?" Mori said. "One has to wonder how he came to admire such an insane tyrant."

"Well, the king wasn't always crazy, you know. Of course, that's exactly what the problem is now, as well as the fact that he doesn't realize he's being completely manipulated by Nihilda. I mean, for crying out loud, he probably doesn't even know who Nihilda is! I mean, Keldeo didn't until just moments ago."

"*sigh* The Twilight World might as well not be theirs."

"The world won't be theirs, anyway. As I understand it, you're still investigating Nihilda-related matters, right?"

"Yes," Pelame answered. "Oh! That reminds me: Mr. Valk, are you good at flying?"

"Uh… you think I have these for decoration?" Valk answered, showing his wings.

"Hee hee… no. But, how are you at swimming?"

"Oh, I suck at that. I mean, I can do it, but I'm terrible at it."

"Perfect! Come with us, then!"

"Come with you for what? Huh?"

Pelame and Mori explained the situation.

"Yep, this Manaphy guy definitely sounds like a weirdo. All right, I'll come along."

"Thanks!"

"Good luck on this lake adventure," Pinna said to his daughter. "Let me know what you find out, okay?"

"Certainly, dad. But what about you? What'll you be doing?"

"Oh, I've got plans. When you return, hopefully they'll be realized, and the Twilit Army will have fallen for good. Then nothing will distract you from Nihilda anymore."

"That's brilliant! Thanks, dad!"

The father and daughter exchanged a quick hug and went off to their tasks. Pinna went back into the holding room.

"That's enough, Benedict," he said to the furfrou bludgeoning Keldeo. "He's unconscious already."

"No, actually, he passed out about fifteen kicks ago," Benedict answered. "I managed to break his huge nose. Look at it." Benedict fooled around with Keldeo's broken nose to prove it.

"Good work. Let me get in one blow before we go." Pinna walked up to his former captain and used Iron Tail on his horn, breaking it. "That oughta disarm him. Okay, let's take Genesect apart."

"Okay, but how?"

"We'll find a way. Why don't we start by consulting a professional hacker?"

"You know any other than Amongele?"

"I know one, and possibly even two."

"Who are they?"

* * *

"Oh, that could be tough…" Torden said upon hearing Pinna's request. "Taking down Hot Air's website was one thing, but breaking into a robotic weapon's mainframe is a pretty tall order. I mean, that'd be a job for one of Maison Pumbloom's hackers—"

"Oh, a hacking job, is it?" Henry asked, walking into the guest room Torden stayed in along with Enjinkumo and a jolteon.

"Ah, Spikybutt, you got released?" Pinna asked.

"Excuse me?!" the jolteon asked, offended. "What nerve you have, calling me such an obnoxious name! My name is Judels!"

"Oh, sorry, Mister Judels. I mistook you for a criminal I knew back home."

"Well, having a ridiculous name like 'Spikybutt' means he either has parents who hate him or he hates himself and gave himself a humiliating nickname. But in any case, what's this I heard about a hacking job?"

"Glad you asked. You see, we've got a plan to take down the Twilit Army. By destroying that Genesect, they'll lose the war for real."

"Well, hacking can only do so much."

"I know. All I need a hacker for is to get into Genesect and take control of it. Then I'll make Genesect shoot itself with its own cannon."

"Ooh, brilliant. Just allow us time to escape, though."

"Well, obviously. So, think you can do it?"

"Yep, I can give it a shot. Henry, want to give me a hand?"

"Certainly," Henry answered. "I've had quite enough of the king of my home nation trying to rule the world. Son, want to help make history?"

"Of course!" Torden answered. "Genesect's going down!"

"All right! Off we go!"

Pinna, Benedict, Judels, Torden, and Henry went on their way to Genesect. There, the World Leaders waited.

"Oh? What's going on here?" Pinna asked.

"Well, we heard you plan to break into Genesect and make it shoot itself to death. We want in," Queen Mkono answered.

"Besides, you might need help getting past whoever's still there to guard it outside and inside," Emperor Kentahito added.

"Thanks. But how did you hear my plan?"

"Well, Judels had his phone on speaker mode," President Cadence answered. "I overheard it all and relayed it to the other World Leaders."

"How handy. So, we all ready to go?"

"Yes," everyone answered.

"All right. Let's go take down my former king!"

Pinna and his comrades left the safety of Maison Pumbloom to begin their offensive on Genesect.

"First things first: disable Magearna," Pinna said, coming face-to-face with the other robot weapon.

"I've got that covered," Torden answered, turning his tail to iron. "Dad, some help, please."

"I like your thinking, my boy," Henry replied proudly. He turned his own tail into iron. "Judels, we'll need you to—"

"Way ahead of you," Judels interjected, getting an electric attack ready. "I've seen this technique many times, and it's ingenious. It might not work on Genesect, though. But it's worth a shot. Pinna, keep Magearna busy."

"On it!" Pinna called back while he was indeed fighting the mechanical marvel off. While that was going on, the guards stationed around Genesect were being fought by the World Leaders. It took five minutes for Judels to store up a decent amount of Charges. Now he was ready.

"Here it comes!" Judels shot a Thunder attack at Torden and Henry's Iron Tails. With electricity coursing through them, they crashed them together, releasing an EMP. Magearna couldn't take it and shut down immediately. Genesect, though, only took minimal damage from it. All that happened was that the door opened.

"All right, there's our way in!" Pinna announced. Everyone entered the weapon's leg.

"Okay, if we can find a computer input station anywhere, we might be able to do some damage," Henry said.

"Then let's get looking."

Genesect was fairly easy to navigate, as long as no "authorized Pokémon only" doors stopped them. It took mere minutes to reach the chest area, but in all that time, no input stations were found. A further combing of the interior yielded no further results.

"Well, on the bright side, we know the place's layout," Pinna said, disappointed. "If only there were any guards or patrol in here, we could've beat a password out of them. Come on. Let's go back to the Maison."

Pinna and his crew left Genesect in low spirits.

* * *

_"Why did I have to get involved in all this?!"_

Pelame made her way back to the Maison on her own. All her traveling party had gone on ahead of her. She had lots of time to mull over these latest developments.

_"Everything I've ever done… everything I've ever wanted to do… looks like the Twilight King's strings weren't the only ones Nihilda was pulling… the world's just as good as over…"_

Tears formed in Pelame's eyes as she neared the Maison.

_"I'm going to be a sylveon whether I want to or not… unless…"_

She took a look at Genesect's head and got an idea. She entered the Maison's protective field, only to find it was no longer so safe. Mortite covered the building and most of the inhabitants had evacuated and were keeping their eyes tightly shut. She saw why: Dark Eyes had sprouted everywhere. She saw a few of the inhabitants had indeed become Mortite.

"Pelame! Thank goodness you're here!" Pinna shouted. "I need a hand here!"

"All right! Let's clear this all away!" Pelame answered. She cooperated with her father to free anyone who got turned into Mortite. Unfortunately, that was all they could free, as the rest of the Mortite grew right back upon receding.

"What's going on here?! Why can't we drive back all of this Mortite?!"

"How long has all this been here?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I left with some assistance to go take out Genesect, but we couldn't find anything that could help us do so, so we cut our losses and left. All this was here when we returned, and some of us became Mortite as soon as we looked into those Dark Eyes. Well, obviously, I didn't, but lots of the others did, and as you can see, this Mortite is especially stubborn."

"Genesis Day is just a few hours away. That could be why. Nihilda's return is almost totally certain."

"Oh? What did you find out about her at the lake ruins?"

"Basically, that she's practically already won." Pelame elaborated on the discovery.

"Well, I'll be damned… so, is there any way at all to stop her?"

"Y—" Pelame stopped herself. "No. She's won."

"Well, if she needs you to be the Sylveon of Light, why not evolve into another form?"

"I can't. Becoming an Alpha locked out all other forms I could've become. Nihilda became a Sylveon by doing two things: obtaining love and affection from her children and Tastebud, and being exposed to a power from the Immortal Realm. I fulfilled that last one during the Team Static incident, and I got the former from everyone cheering me on when I was about to defeat the Twilight King."

"How did you discover all this? You didn't say those facts were in the ruins."

"I noticed how similar our two cases were. I nearly was in the same spot she was in when she evolved."

"I see. Then what's keeping you from evolving now?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't want to face the Twilight King in battle again. If I Purify him, I could evolve for certain and doom the world." Pelame's eyes began to water. "I don't know what to do…"

"I know you'll think of something, dear."

Pelame sighed, not wanting to clue her father in to how right he accidentally was. She went back to freeing the frozen Pokémon.

"Ohh… Merci infiniment Pelame !" Henri cried in gratitude upon being freed along with his sister. "Cet Oeil Noir nous a pris en embuscade Marie et moi, et nous avons..." Pelame walked right by. "Pelame? Est-ce que ça va ?"

No answer.

"J'espère que oui." Marie answered her brother. "Le Jour de la Genèse est demain." She turned her attention to Pinna. "I saw you and some other Pokémon going into Genesect. What was going on in there?"

"Eh, we tried to get in so we could hack its system to make it shoot itself," Pinna answered. "As you can see, we failed. But I do wonder where all the Twilit Soldiers are."

* * *

Pelame went down to the lower levels of the Maison in very low spirits. She had just one idea on how Nihilda could be stopped, and she was not at all comfortable with it. But she knew it needed to be done. She entered the area Keldeo was being held. She approached him and removed the scarf covering his mouth.

"Well, I wonder what compels you to visit me, Pelame," Keldeo said bitterly.

"Keldeo, I need your help," Pelame said.

"The day I help a traitor is the day the sky turns red."

"Please, Keldeo. If you don't help me, your king won't gain control of the world. I need to see him."

"What for? To Purify him?"

"No. I'm surrendering myself to him."

At that, Keldeo perked up.

"But listen to me, because this is important. Nobody is to know about this. If anybody finds out, they'll try to stop me, and the world will be doomed. You see…" Pelame told Keldeo everything she knew about Nihilda.

"That sure is some evil legacy you've got running through your veins…" Keldeo responded, audibly shocked. "You really sure about this plan of yours?"

"Yes. Take me to your king."

"No need to give me orders. Get me out of these restraints first!"

Pelame did so, using her Alpha Power to break the cuffs holding Keldeo to the wall. Keldeo fell to the ground, landing flat on his back. He stretched and then stood up.

"Let's get going, Pelame."

* * *

In Genesect's Control Room, the Twilight King brooded.

**"The destined day is tomorrow. You'd best be ready."**

"Believe me, I am," King Kangaskhan II seethed, flexing his Demon-type power. "Genesis Day is the day the world becomes mine. Pelame will not get in my way again!"

**"Hold yourself to that. Fail against her again, then you lose the world."**

"I KNOW THAT! YOU DON'T NEED TO REMIND ME!"

**"Oh, don't I?"**


	55. The Twilight World

**A/N: My thanks to Naguro for the French translations.**

* * *

Chapter 55 – The Twilight World

* * *

**"****In only one more hour, Pocketurn will meet with its destiny."**

"Yes," the Twilight King responded. "It'll belong to me at last."

**"****The world will be bathed in twilight. Or…it will be if you can deal with Pelame. And as you are now, you cannot."**

"What do _you_ know?!"

**"****Hmph. It would be easier to rattle off what I ****_don't_**** know. I just don't imagine that you'd want to take any chances, especially since you're a mere hour away from your destiny, and with nothing you need to achieve it. Well, why not take this chance you've been offered to rectify that?"**

The King perked up.

**"****I knew that would get your attention. Once the World Leaders lock eyes with my eyes, that'll be your chance to gain possession of them. And after that… well, let me attend to the World Leaders first."**

At that moment, Dark Eyes sprouted within the Maison, turning all who saw them into Mortite. Pelame and Keldeo witnessed this going on as they made their way out of the Maison.

"We're an hour away from Genesis Day," Keldeo stated. "Nihilda must be getting ready."

Pelame said nothing to that. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Emperor Kentahito's petrified form being whisked away into a shadowy portal.

"NO!" she screamed, rushing over to try to rescue the Emperor. She attached an Alpha Cord to him and attempted to pull him out.

**"****It's been a while, Pelame."**

As soon as she heard those words, a dark portal opened beneath her and abducted her, too, leaving Keldeo on his own.

"I hope you can handle her, sire," he muttered.

* * *

Pelame landed roughly on her side on a hard metal floor. She struggled to her feet as the Emperor's petrified form landed next to her, nearly crushing her. The other World Leaders landed near her, too. President Cadence did land on her, pinning her underneath. She struggled for a bit until she was able to get out from under him. Looking ahead, she saw her adversary sitting on the control deck's throne. He stood up and walked over to the petrified World Leaders.

"You will be dealt with soon, Pelame," he said. "My destiny will be fulfilled. And you will not obstruct me anymore."

"Deal with me now, then," Pelame said sincerely to the Twilight King. "I'm surrendering."

"Hmm?!"

Pelame walked forward and bowed to her enemy.

"I'm no longer fighting you. You've won. Do with me as you will."

She blinked a tear from her eyes.

_"__Goodbye, everyone. I'm sorry."_

The Twilight King stared down at his enemy.

**"****I understand your temptation, but it's a ruse. She'll Purify you once you make contact with her."**

The King hesitated upon hearing this warning.

"Good try, Pelame," King Kangaskhan II said. "I'll keep my Dark Blessing, though."

**"****Once you have the world, you can deal with her. For now, she's too dangerous. Cut your losses."**

A dark portal opened beneath the King and the petrified World Leaders, whisking them away. Pelame attempted to follow them, but the portals closed before she could, causing her to faceplant on the floor. The Dark Blessing then spoke to Pelame.

**"****The two Planes of Existence will soon lose their boundaries, all but one. The Twilight King will be the ruler of both Realms. So I suggest you come to terms with the world's fate, Pelame, and quit being such an annoying thorn in destiny's side."**

"You're playing him just like you played me!" Pelame shouted at the Dark Blessing. She looked around, ready to attack anything that moved. Once she calmed down, she walked over to the throne and sat on it. She was remarkably smaller than the Twilight King. Due to that, the throne was gigantic enough to be a bed for her.

"INPUT COMMAND," said Genesect.

Pelame was taken aback to hear that Genesect was answering to her.

"Umm… Use Explosion on yourself," Pelame ordered.

"AFFIRMATIVE. SELF-DESTRUCT INITIATED. MORTITE SHALL SPREAD PER NIHILDA'S WISH. SELF-DESTRUCT WILL COMMENCE IN ONE MINUTE. CHARGING UP."

"Wait! Cancel self-destruct!"

"IMPOSSIBLE. SELF-DESTRUCT CANNOT BE OVERRIDDEN. FIFTY-FIVE SECONDS REMAINING."

Seeing no further point in trying, Pelame evacuated Genesect. On her way out, she saw Amongele rush toward his creation.

"NOOOOOOOO! MY BABY!" he screamed in despair.

"No, wait! You'll—"

Just as soon as Amongele entered Genesect, it exploded. Strangely, the explosion froze as soon as it reached its apex. The frozen explosion was unmistakable.

"Mortite…"

"What happened?!" Keldeo demanded, arriving on the scene. He glared at Pelame. "YOU did this!"

"Yes, but Genesect mentioned Nihilda! She's—"

"Where's the King?!"

"He vanished into a dark portal with the World Leaders. I don't know where he went."

"Then… we need to find him. But… why didn't he Disappear you when he had the chance you gave him?"

"I don't know! But I think Nihilda had to do with it."

"Hmph, you're gonna blame her for everything, aren't you?"

"Keldeo, she'll kill us all! I need to see your king!"

"All right, all right, calm down. We just need to find him."

"But WHERE IS HE?!"

"Well, if your father hadn't Purified me, I could've asked the Dark Blessing where he went. So, we'll just have to do it the hard way."

"Actually, I have an idea. Follow me."

"Where to."

"The place the Alpha and Demon types originated."

"Oh, you know the Realm Gate's location?"

"Yes."

"All right. Lead the way."

* * *

**"****No time like the present, you know."**

The King took the petrified World Leaders to the spot where the Realm Gates stood.

"Now, give me the world!"

Mortite grew around the field of the Gates, enveloping them and leaking into the Mortal Realm, thickening the coat of Mortite already covering Pocketurn.

* * *

Thirty minutes remained until Genesis Day by the time Pelame and Keldeo reached the Blooman Realm Gate. The two of them swam through the underwater cave and surfaced in the Immortal Realm.

"Wait a moment, isn't the Realm Gate supposed to lead to the spot where all the Realm Gates are at?"

"Yes, but the straight path to it was blocked. We need to find the Portal Field the hard way," Pelame answered.

"Well, we'd better hurry."

The sky was twilit and the ground had Mortite growing along it.

"He's already started his finalization of his conquering of the world."

"I can tell! The portals have turned dark!"

Pelame pointed to the portals, which had not only turned dark, but were merging into one.

* * *

The Portal Field sunk into the ground. In the Mortal Realm, the six portals' energy converged into one, with the Portal Field situated on the top of it. The Twilight King used his immense power to lift off a section of his castle and place it onto the Field. Standing atop it, he issued a proclamation to the world.

"Citizens of Pocketurn! On this day, Twelfthmonth 31, 1512, the world has become my exclusive possession. The Twilight World had become reality at last! I am the final remaining World Leader, which makes me the world's one true ruler! Mortals and Immortals alike shall bow to me!"

Down in Luttney, the citizens hunkered down in Maison Pumbloom uttered a cry of despair over the news that outright confirmed all of their leader's demises.

"NON ! Le roi Twilight ne peut pas avoir gagné !" Henri bawled.

"Non… Ce n'est pas lui qui a gagné…" Marie added. "C'est la personne qui tirait les ficelles..."

"I, King Kangaskhan II, ruler of the Twilight World, have spoken!"

"You're crazy!" Pelame retorted, appearing behind the Twilight King. "You're not the ruler of the world!"

"Of course I am, and you will not stop me!"

The Twilight King shot a Demon power-magnified Hyper Beam at Pelame, who blocked it.

"And Keldeo, I'd like to know what the meaning of this is. Are you betraying me?!"

"Of course not, sire," Keldeo answered, bowing to his king. "I brought Pelame to you. She has surrendered."

"Yes. She'd told me so herself. And yet, she had the nerve to destroy Genesect. Not that I need it anymore, mind you."

"Sire, take a look at where Genesect was standing. That explosion is a Mortite statue now, with one of your engineers frozen in it. There was no Mortite in your machine to begin with, was there?"

"No."

"See, sire. Nihilda's been playing you since you spoke with her last Genesis Day. But you can stop her and gain control of the world for real. All you need to do is make me Disappear. That way, Nihilda won't return and swipe the world from you."

"And who is this 'Nihilda', hmm?"

"Short version: she's everything you thought Unod was. Long story, well…" Pelame relayed the long story.

"I see. So it'll serve the world well to be rid of you."

"Yes. So get it over with."

"Much obliged," the King said joyfully, getting his power ready. Keldeo also watched in glee as his king grabbed hold of Pelame. She fit perfectly into his right hand, where his energy was focused. He poured every last inch of his power into making Pelame Disappear, dyeing the whole world black. Then everything turned white.

* * *

Down below, the whole world was hit by a large and powerful wave of Alpha energy, erasing all the Mortite and freeing everyone who was petrified. The Portal Field disappeared, and the six Portal lights separated. However, the sky was still dark.

"What's going on here?" Mori asked. "Did Pelame win?"

"Looks that way," Zaki added. "Pinna, you've sure got a heroic daughter."

"Yep, and I can't overstate enough how proud I am of her," Pinna responded.

* * *

"Wh-where am I?" Pelame wondered, her eyes slowly opening. As soon as she fully awakened, she saw the Twilight King before her, unconscious. "Are we…dead?"

She looked around, finding no one else but herself, the king, and Keldeo. She was the only conscious one. But that didn't last, as the king soon awakened.

"What is… what is this place? Where am I?" he asked, sounding scared and confused. His bewilderment became rage as soon as he laid eyes on Pelame. "But… you were… I MADE YOU DISAPPEAR! HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?!"

"I'm… alive…?"

"The world is mine! I had all the power that could be found within it! What went wrong?!"

**"****Nothing. In fact, everything went right, my puppet."**

The three of them froze upon hearing those words.

"Puppet?! You dare call me such a thing?!"

**"****Why not? That's what you are. That's what you've been. But now, you've done just what I needed you to do. You've created the Twilight World I needed. You and Pelame both."**

"Me?! How would I ever help you do anything like that?!" Pelame demanded.

**"****Simple. By assuming my true form."**

"Your true…—" The realization hit her with immeasurable force. Looking at herself confirmed her apprehension. What she'd been trying to prevent all along had happened.

Pelame was now a sylveon.

"H-how…? I was…supposed to Disappear…! This wasn't supposed to… I wasn't… NOOOOO! I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO EVOLVE!"

**"****Oh, yes you were, Pelame. This was meant to be ever since the Twilight King became a Demon-type. He, a perfect union of light and dark, would attempt to make the light Disappear, and then, the light would fight back and return him to it."**

"Twilight…"

**"****You were the light in this scenario, Pelame, just like you were chosen to be. And so you've become a sylveon, the Sylveon of Light. The love you've gained all your life simply needed to be joined with a power from the Immortal Realm. So, you see, you've been unable to fight fate ever since Paras awakened your Alpha Power. You would only ever become a Sylveon from then on when this Genesis Day arrived. And now it has, and now you have. The Sylveon of Light, the perfect counter to me, the Sylveon of Darkness. You were chosen for this, Pelame, by me."**

Pelame collapsed to her knees in total defeat.

**"****The Twilight King is no longer necessary for this world."**

A pair of Dark eyes looked at the shocked King, turning him into Mortite.

**"****You've been a good puppet. Your high hopes were carefully built up high, as were everyone's. But the world you wanted never was meant to be, and in this world, you aren't either. Disappear from it now."**

And so, by Nihilda's power, the Twilight King was no more. With that, the last of the Boundaries was destroyed, and the two Planes of Existence began merging into one.

"Sire…?" Keldeo said, heartbroken at witnessing his king's end.

**"****He's no more. You won't be seeing him again, even if you were to fall victim to a different fate than he did."**

"Why you…" Keldeo was shaking. He felt a mixture of despair and anger, as if he's lost absolutely everything. He looked at the dark mass slowly regaining its true form and charged at it. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS! YOU KILLED MY KING!" He changed forme and unleashed his Secret Sword technique, swinging furiously at Nihilda.

**"****Hmph… useless. You think you can avenge your king?"**

"It's worth a try! It's all I have left to do! I have nothing else in this world! I'll die a happy Pokémon IF I CAN INFLICT ANY PAIN AT ALL ON YOU!"

**"****What a loyal servant, working for a leader even after he's no more. Well, I'm sure he'd be relieved."**

Ribbons made of dark energy came out of Nihilda's gathering true form and grabbed Keldeo, restraining him until he couldn't move.

**"****Relieved at not being around to see his very best servant fail him one last time."**

The ribbons extended and formed a shape closely resembling the Emblem of Existence. Out of it came a gigantic beam of evil energy that made a deafening low-pitched humming sound. Keldeo was obliterated upon contact with this attack.

**"****Just like how I used to be. My power is back. But I have access to even more thanks to you, Pelame. You've done exactly what my bloodline was meant to do. Now, the Twilight World shall serve its function!"**

* * *

The two Realms had finished merging into one just as it became Genesis Day 1513. Even though it was midnight, the sun was setting. In the sky appeared an image of Nihilda, glaring down at the mess of a world below. The image turned into dark energy that swooped down to the ground below, rapidly rushing through every corner of it. It reached the area containing Llyria County.

"Whoa, crazy Genesis Day already, huh?" Scyther asked Paras as the dark energy passed through them both. Paras suddenly collapsed. "Paras? You okay there? Paras?" Scyther went up to his dear friend and tried to rouse him awake, only to find that he wasn't asleep. "PARAS! YOU CAN'T DIE ON ME!" Scyther desperately tried to rouse his friend awake, unable to comprehend that he'd suddenly died in front of him. The same had happened to any other former Demon-types in the area. Master Lee lie dead in his dojo, unaware of what had killed him.

Over in the land corresponding to Shizazoto, the dark energy took the lives of all the former Demon-types there, too. Morihito lie dead in his jail cell, having been smote by the dark energy. Its business there was finished.

After picking off former Demon-types and former petrified Pokémon in Swadfrieg, Ordoxivia, and Tradja, it finally moved on to Pumbloomberg, where Pelame currently stood, having been returned there by Tastebud after locating her. The dark energy smote all former Demon-types and all former petrified Pokémon in the area before finally converging on Maison Pumbloom. Everyone waiting there knew what was coming.

"Marie, merci pour tout." Henri said sadly to his sister. "Adieu."

"Adieu Henri, je t'aime mon frère." Marie responded.

"Père, mère, nous vous verrons bientôt..." said both siblings as the dark energy struck them down.

"Keep away from me! I can't die like—" Sanjuro's words were cut off when the dark energy reached him. He collapsed dead with an expression of fear on his face.

"FATHER!" Mori cried out in despair when Zaki collapsed dead. He and his mother cradled his body in despair.

"Pelame! Forgive me!" Pugno shouted out. He collapsed dead, the last one to be smote by the dark energy.

The energy returned to its source. There stood a sylveon who looked older, have a messier head of hair, and ribbons tipped in black Mortite that occasionally flashed purple.

**"****All Purified Demon-types are perfect unions of light and dark, too, just what I needed."**

From the ground in front of her opened up a source of light that released immense energy that spread all throughout the world.

**"****The Source of All appears to me at last. Now, world, begin Disappearing. By next Genesis Day's time, existence itself will be no more."**

* * *

And so, Genesis Day 1513 became Judgement Day, and the world began its path to destruction.


End file.
